The National Exchange Carrier Assn.’s (NECA’s) board placed 3 top...
The National Exchange Carrier Assn.’s (NECA’s) board placed 3 top executives, including Pres. Bob Anderson, on administrative leave after an audit revealed questions about their compensation. The board said it hired an independent law firm to conduct a review.…
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A NECA statement didn’t explain the compensation issue being questioned, and a spokesman declined to comment on it. However, the problem reportedly involved bonuses paid to the executives by NECA Services Inc., a separate, for-profit company that administers the e-rate and rural health care programs as a contractor for the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC). The other executives placed on leave were Gen. Counsel Ken Levy and CFO Ron Cook. NECA emphasized that the concerns didn’t involve regulatory matters such as NECA’s access charge pooling and Universal Service Fund collection responsibilities, which are done on a quasi-governmental basis. “Further, no FCC compliance issues have been identified,” the group said. The board appointed NECA Board Chmn. Bill Hegmann as interim pres. Hegmann is gen. mgr. of Southwest Ark. Telephone Cooperative.