The Finance and Government Operations Committee on Wednesday voted to send to the full Council a resolution calling for an investigation of the recent movement of Water Department administrators from the Berlin Street Water and Sewer Building to City Hall. The resolution came before F&G because it comes with $10,000 appropriation from the General Fund for "the hiring of an outside law firm or professional organization to conduct an investigation for the Common Council, in accordance with the request of the WPCA..."
The Water Pollution Control Authority is the oversight board for the Water and Sewer Department. In a September 7th letter, the WPCA called on Council to "investigate the abrupt moving [by Mayor Giuliano] of the Water & Sewer Director, Deputy Director, and the Administrative Aide from the & Sewer Building on Berlin Street to the Municipal Building on deKoven Drive, and Field Supervisor to the Waste Treatment Plant on River Road."
The mayor provided an explanation for his action in a press release two days after the WPCA letter.
The resolution before the Council has been put forward by Majority Leader Tom Serra. It reads in part, "WHEREAS, the majority of the "reasons" offered in the release are facially [sic?] inadequate, raising as they do issues which are years old and which have long since been resolved by the WPCA or the relevant city staff..."
It is not clear from the WPCA letter, or from the proposed Council resolution, whether the investigation would be directed to evaluate the Water and Sewer Department and Giuliano's claim of multiple "danger signs of this department failing", or directed to evaluate the Mayor's office and his authority to make his own evaluation and order the movement of personnel.
I asked Councilman David Bauer, who as a member of WPCA signed the letter requesting an investigation, what the investigation might entail. He said that he would outline what he thought the specific goals of the investigation should be at Monday's Council meeting.
The resolution calls for a report of "findings and recommendations" to be completed on October 31st, one week before the municipal elections.
So now the Democrats can't say they aren't contributing to the rising legal costs in the City of Middletown. First they hire a lawyer to fight the police contract, even though there isn't anything worth fighting about because the police are getting the same as the fire contract. Now they are hiring a lawyer to check into the Mayor putting the Water and Sewer director's office at city hall. Is that worth spending lawyer's fees on? I thought they believed that Tim Lynch the City Attorney was a capable lawyer? Why didn't they ask him the question for free?
ReplyDeleteIs it proper for a Council person to submit a resolution which affects a director who is a blood relative? Typically, a lawmaker would recuse himself from even voting in such a situation.
ReplyDeleteGuy Russo, director of the water and sewer department, is Tom Serra's cousin.
Hmmmmm.... Me thinks something stinks. AGAIN!
ReplyDelete