A Georgia economist once jailed for failure to pay child support said he's "absolutely" still interested in getting the contract to advise New Hampshire officials on child-support guidelines. He also wants to clear his name.

The state's child-support system is based on a percentage of parental income, but lawmakers want to rewrite the guidelines to base them on the cost of raising a child. They passed a bill last year approving the money to hire an economist to determine that cost, and Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen recommended R. Mark Rogers for the $200,000 contract.

Gov. John Lynch thought the bid-evaluation process might have been unfairly weighted to Rogers over Policy Studies Inc., the Colorado firm that also bid on the contract. After he learned about Rogers's legal history from the media in January, Lynch stopped the contract from being placed on the Executive Council agenda and asked Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to investigate.

Ayotte, who returned her report earlier this month, said the process "undermined public confidence"and that the bidding should be reopened. Lynch agreed with the recommendation and said he would discuss the findings further with the council at a breakfast meeting this Wednesday. He also made it clear he does not want Stephen to recommend Rogers again: "I don't think he should even be allowed to bid on it," Lynch said.

Rogers told the Monitor last week that he hopes to still be considered for the contract, which he said a Health and Human Services official told him in late 2005 was his. At the time, he was told the remaining process was a formality, but he said he has not heard from state officials since. Rogers learned through the media that the governor and council had not voted to give him the contract.

Rogers said his economics background speaks for itself, with a "very strong ethic of objectivity,"and should be the only thing considered. He spent 19 years with the Federal Reserve, authored an economics handbook published by McGraw-Hill and served on the Georgia Commission on Child Support. He also partnered with a UNH professor in making his proposal to the state.

On the other hand, Rogers advocates for reducing guidelines and has served as an expert witness for noncustodial parents who wish to pay less in child support. A divorced father, he was jailed for two weeks in the mid-1990s after failing to pay more than $7,000 in child support. He said he suffered a financial downturn, filed for bankruptcy and set up a back-payment system to his ex-wife through bankruptcy court.

A superior court judge thought

the move was a ploy and found him in contempt. Rogers waited in county jail until his mother cashed in her retirement fund to bail him out, he said.

Rogers later became the custodial parent for his daughter and also remarried. His experience as a parent, stepparent and divorced father on both sides of the custodial issue gives him a unique perspective, he said. "Denying state contracts to those (who) have had child-support difficulties at any time would be very unreasonable and unfair and would exclude talent beneficial to the citizens of New Hampshire," Rogers wrote in an email.

Counting votes

The Executive Council is divided on whether Rogers's history should disqualify him. Councilor Ray Burton said no. "Whoever that committee and the commissioner brings to governor and council, I'm ready to vote yes," he said. "I don't care who it is. We've got to get this work done."

Ruth Griffin also thought no one should be disqualified for personal reasons. "If Mr. Rogers wants to bid, and he's qualified under the rules and regulations of the state of New Hampshire, far be it for me to stop anyone from contributing to a bidding process," she said.

Debora Pignatelli disagreed: "When we're talking about a contract to change our child-support guidelines, my thinking now is that it's inappropriate to choose a vendor who has been jailed for failure to pay child support."Councilor Peter Spaulding said he would have "serious reservations" about Rogers's objectivity.

Councilor Ray Wieczorekcould not be reached but said in January he thought the contract should go to Rogers.

Single page