Senators Will Investigate Altered Letters Asking for DOT Funding | Eastern NC Now

   Publisher's note: The author of this fine report is Barry Smith, who is a contributor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Perdue aide allegedly modified letter to expedite momey for toll projects

    RALEIGH     The Senate Rules Committee plans an inquiry into two altered letters purportedly from a top N.C. Department of Transportation official which said that money is needed now in order to proceed with two toll projects - the Garden Parkway in Gaston and Mecklenburg Counties and the Mid-Currituck along the Outer Banks.

    "We will go where the facts lead us," said Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee.

    Apodaca said the committee will meet again Wednesday morning to hear from Department of Transportation officials. Another meeting is planned for Thursday morning to hear from Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's office.

    (Click on the links for audio from today's Rules Committee meeting from Sen. Apodaca's opening statement, Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick's overview, and Apodaca's concluding remarks).

    The two letters in question were dated June 14 and bore the electronic signatures of Jim Trogdon, who is the chief operating officer for DOT. Trogdon had been asked to draft letters to Sen. Stan White, D-Dare, and Rep. Bill Current, R-Gaston, responding to their concerns about money not being in the Senate budget for the two toll projects.

    The original letters repeated an earlier assertion by Trogdon that money for the two toll projects would not be needed for a year because of anticipated lawsuits, according to a story reported in Tuesday's News & Observer.

    Perdue's office did not accept Trogdon's letters, the N&O story says, and an aide altered the letters to say that the money would be needed for the upcoming 2012-12 budget cycle.

    The altered letters said that $28 million was needed for the Mid-Currituck Bridge and $35 million was needed for the Garden Parkway.

    The request for the upcoming budget cycle differed from a previous memo prepared by Trogdon. That memo said anticipated delays in the two projects meant the money would not be needed until the 2013-14 fiscal year.

    The N&O story said that another Perdue aide, Pryor Gibson, took the altered letters over to the DOT office to get Trogdon's signature. Trogdon was in Charlotte at the time and, according to the story, did not authorize the signature. He later sent a letter to the two lawmakers saying that the altered letters were provided "without my review or consent."