Oversight committee to interview current, former Iowa officials Wednesday

The Iowa Senate Oversight Committee will meet Wednesday at the State Capitol to interview former and current officials with a state agency that paid secret settlements as part of a 2011 reorganization.

The committee subpoenaed Mike Carroll, former director of the Department of Administrative Services who was fired in April; Ryan Lamb, a former DAS attorney who negotiated the settlements, and Doug Woodley, who stepped down last month as DAS' general services enterprise chief operating officer.

Current DAS officials scheduled to testify are Director Janet Phipps; Bill West, public service executive; Michelle Minnehan, human resources chief operating officer; and Paul Carlson, chief resource maximization officer.

The committee also expects to hear from Jodi Tymeson, Iowa Veterans Home commandant, about bidding procedures for renovation projects at the Marshalltown facility.

The Lamb and Carroll interviews are expected to last at least 90 minutes, Sen. Janet Peterson, D-Des Moines, said Monday.

'It's hard to plan an agenda when you don't know whether they will be forthcoming,” she said.

The Iowa Senate, controlled by Democrats, gave the oversight panel broad investigative powers to look into alleged mismanagement and secret dealings by Gov. Terry Branstad's administration.

Senate Resolution 121 grants the panel authority through Dec. 31 to call witnesses, administer oaths, issue subpoenas, and cite and impose punishment for contempt - ranging from a $500 fine for an initial citation, $1,000 for a second or subsequent citation and the power to impose imprisonment for a period of up to six months.