Professor Douglas Rae Investigation of Water & Sewer: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1OYjxtLEgUweUYya3A1b2I3cnc/edit?usp=sharing
Subcommittee Findings: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1OYjxtLEgUwa2FCcUZwUjlBTTg/edit?usp=sharing
Water & Sewer Attachments: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1OYjxtLEgUwTHFCbjVEV0pDeG8/edit?usp=sharing
Water & Sewer Sub Committee Findings:https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1OYjxtLEgUwYUpaaUFqME9PTGc/edit?usp=sharing
The Water & Sewer Debacle:
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2008: In 2008 $100,000 had been spent to overhaul the department including a reorganization plan that according to Mayor Giuliano, was never enacted by W&S Director Guy Russo as ordered.W&S was supposed to have made as of 2008 after the department had to be taken over by then Finance Director James Reynolds due to lost of funds, had still not been implemented. In addition to the extreme departmental debt and numerous warnings to basically fix things before they hit the fan, an unprecedented number of grievances by employees were filed at this time and on the job accidents spiked leading to the logical conclusion that at the very least management needed to be scrutinized
2009: Candidate Dan Drew stated on record in an interview with the Wesleyan Argus that:"Not to mentioned our city's sewer department is in dire straits financially. If it were privately owned, it would declare bankruptcy. We don't know where we're going right now."
In 2011 the Common Council voted to investigate the Water & Sewer department “to investigate
The underlying basis which led Mayor Sebastian N. Giuliano to order moving the Water and Sewer
Department’s
administrative staff from headquarters on Berlin Street to City Hall.”
This “investigation” was in response to a letter from the WPCA (Water
Pollution Control Authority) objecting to this move. Apparently, the
WPCA did not believe that the mayor had discretion to move the Director
and Deputy Director to City Hall. A firestorm of debate ensued with the
end result being $10,000, yes, 10 thousand dollars being spent on this matter!
The
Charter, Chaper 111 sec. 8, provides the Council to conduct an
investigation; Council-not a consultant. Disregarding the Charter,
Professor Douglas W. Rae was hired by the sub-committee, Councilwoman
Kasper, Councilman Bibisi, Council Klattenberg and former Councilman
Bauer, to assist in the investigation by conducting preliminary
interviews with key department and personnel. The backstory is that
there was and still continues to be management issues within the
department. The problem was not former Mayor Giuliano moving staff it
was the incompetence of the “management team” and the grievances filed.
So, the Council decides to spend $10,000 because a Mayor moved staff, the investigator never interviewed all the employees of Water and Sewer and the $10,000 conclusion, “Water and Sewer’s central administrative spine is broken” according to the final report. In the end, nothing changed, management has yet to withdraw from the Teamsters Union (Mayor Drew deciding not to adhere to the recommendation of the report), management HAS NOT received any training as indicated necessary in the report.
So, the Council decides to spend $10,000 because a Mayor moved staff, the investigator never interviewed all the employees of Water and Sewer and the $10,000 conclusion, “Water and Sewer’s central administrative spine is broken” according to the final report. In the end, nothing changed, management has yet to withdraw from the Teamsters Union (Mayor Drew deciding not to adhere to the recommendation of the report), management HAS NOT received any training as indicated necessary in the report.
In conclusion, $10,000 was spent
and NOTHING has been done.
The public needs to be aware that the report was done “illegally” because Council did not perform the investigation. Water and Sewer management continue to manage in the same “broken” manner with the same problems still present. And, the public should demand to know why former Mayor Giuliano’s move of the director and deputy director set the stage for a $10, 000 report yet Mayor Drew has moved people and offices without so much as a peep from the Council.
The entire Water and Sewer Investigation Report dated March 5, 2012 is posted for your review. The $10,000 question-“Was $10,000 wisely spent or squandered?”
2013: Several requests to get this report via FOI were made and dismissed.http://www.middletowninsider.com/2013/01/wilson-foi-results-transparency-not.html
How many cycles do water bills have to go out with wrong information before anything is done?
