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CLEAR Temp: 62 °F Wind: NW at 6 mph Saturday, June 1, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 1, 2002 Urban renewal chairman quits at bosses’ request His employer, a leading brokerage firm, worries about potential conflicts By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune The nation’s second-largest brokerage firm has asked Medford Urban Renewal Agency’s board chairman to resign his post. Salomon Smith Barney asked financial consultant Greg Yechout, 30, to resign from the MURA board because of a company policy about avoiding potential conflicts of interest, said Susan Thomson, a Smith Barney spokeswoman at the company’s headquarters in Manhattan. "I know Greg regrets having to leave public service — he’s been very committed to his board participation," Thomson said. Yechout announced his resignation to board members Friday but will make it official at the next Medford Urban Renewal meeting June 11. "This was not related to anything specific — there are many other people involved in civic duty, and this is a universal policy throughout the firm," Yechout said. The Medford City Council will appoint his successor in the coming months, said Don Burt, MURA’s executive director. The board of directors for the agency created to revitalize downtown will miss Yechout’s leadership, said MURA board member Dick Entinger, who is also a stockbroker. "He has a deep commitment to his obligation and to his community, and I applaud him for that," Entinger said. "Greg was the board chairman during a transition period when the agency went from a planning, tear-down stage to when we started to develop projects that were going to revitalize and move downtown into a build mode," said Entinger, vice president of investment for Strand Atkinson Williams and York, based in Portland. Why one investment firm would allow an employee to serve on the MURA board and another would not is partly due to Salomon Smith Barney’s involvement in underwriting municipal bonds, Entinger said. "Smith Barney has a very large presence in the public finance industry and we have a very limited presence in public finance," Entinger said. Salomon Smith Barney, which handles $1 trillion in client assets and has 12,900 consultants in 500 offices across the nation, asked another Medford employee to leave public service recently. Financial consultant Bill Clary resigned from the Medford Budget Committee on March 6. "It’s the post-Enron/Arthur Andersen environment," said Medford Deputy City Manager Jef Faw, talking about the now-defunct energy company and its accounting and consulting firm. "People are very sensitive to the perception of conflict of interest. But when your employer tells you to do something, you do it." Salomon Smith Barney was among eight investment firms that bid on Medford’s $5.7 million revenue bond sale on April 30. The city sold bonds to purchase land for a proposed sports park in southwest Medford. Wells Fargo Brokerage Service was the low bidder, said Chad Cowan, with Regional Financial Advisors in Portland, the firm that conducted the Internet sale for the city. Faw said there was no conflict of interest because the City Council, not the budget committee, authorizes bond sales on a competitive basis, and awards the low bid. "Back in New York, they may see the budget committee as a decision-making body when in fact, it is not," he said. Salomon Smith Barney follows New York Stock Exchange Rule 346, which requires employees to obtain consent prior to accepting a position on any board or agency, said Thomson, the firm’s spokeswoman in Manhattan. "On a rolling basis, Salomon Smith Barney reviews the outside affiliations of its employees and their outside activities in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest," Thomson said. Yechout’s filling out the forms about his public service during the review process is likely what prompted Salomon Smith Barney to ask for his resignation from the Medford Urban Renewal Agency board, Thomson said. Yechout has been a MURA board member since January 1999. Corporate America’s pulling in employees to protect itself means a loss for local communities that need the expertise and dedication of people like Yechout, said Medford Councilman Ed Chun. He is director of marketing for Cascade Investment Counsel in Ashland, which provides investment advice and services. "I think it’s over-reacting on Smith Barney’s part," said the 36-year-old Chun. "We’ve lost two really good people serving on our boards and committees. It’s hard to get young professionals on boards. I’m the youngest member of the City Council and I know how hard it is because of time commitments. It’s too bad Greg has to resign. I’m disappointed." Skip Patterson, a MURA board member since the agency’s creation, agreed. "Greg is a bright young man who has done an excellent job leading the agency for the period of time he’s been with us," Patterson said. "It’s sad to see him resign, but we understand." Yechout announced his resignation a few days before a court hearing in a lawsuit that names MURA’s nine board members and executive director Burt. Downtown landlord Bill Ferguson is suing MURA over the proposed $20 million Winetrout project, a six-story, mixed-use building with a parking garage, offices and shops planned for the corner of Main and Fir streets. "(The resignation) is not related to the lawsuit," Yechout said. "As a firm, we regret the timing of the circumstances," said Thomson. District Judge Phil Arnold will hear the case at 3 p.m. Monday in the Justice Building, Courtroom 2. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S