Water Authority Names New Chief
Pamela Marchand, most recently the general manager of the Providence Water Supply Board, is hired as executive director of the Bristol County Water Authority.
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The Bristol County Water Authority has a new executive director.
Pamela Marchand, most recently the chief engineer and general manager of the Providence Water Supply Board, was approved unanimously by the water authority board at its meeting Wednesday evening, Feb. 8.
She replaces Pasquale DeLise, who resigned at the end of last year after more than 20 years in the post.
Marchand, of Providence, also will serve as the authority’s chief engineer. She brings more than 25 years of experience in water utilities as an engineer and general manager, according to the water authority, including for the Pawtucket water board.
Marchand’s first day on the job will be Feb. 27, said John Jannitto, the BCWA board chairman, who made the recommendation to hire her. She will get a three-year contract.
Her salary was not disclosed, but she was earning almost $180,000 at the Providence Water Supply Board, according to a story on the highest paid Providence city workers in GoLocal Prov.com.
Jannitto said the search process produced some excellent candidates, but Marchand stood out “because of everything in general the board was looking for.”
“She will bring new energy to the authority,” he said. “She said she wants to make this a model for all water authorities.”
Barrington director Kevin Fitta said her background and credentials made her an excellent choice.
“She is well-respected in the industry,” Fitta said. “She has vision, is energetic and brings a positive attitude. I’m looking forward to working with her.”
Marchand resigned from her position in Providence in mid-December after being placed on paid administrative leave, according to a Providence Journal story. Her departure was described as “a confidential personnel matter.”
A separate story on GoLocalProv.com said she left with a $250,000 severance package after reports that the PWSB board was not in agreement with her about her job performance. Her severance package included a letter of recommendation, and both sides reportedly agreed not to sue or disparage one another about the breakup.
Asked if Marchand had been relieved of her position, Jannitto said: “She was not removed.” If Marchand had been terminated, he said, the board would have found out about it in the vetting process.
Jannitto also squelched speculation that he might step down as BCWA board chairman to provide a clean break with the sometimes tumultuous past under DeLise's leadership.
“I’ve got two years left,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working with her to follow through on the changes we’ve been talking about for some time.”
Marchand finished as the top candidate “on the ranking compilations submitted by the four independent town officials, as well as by the board of directors after their interviews,” according to a news release from the BCWA.
“We are delighted to be able to continue the tradition of combining the roles of executive director and chief engineer with a talented and experienced professional in the water industry,” Jannitto said in the release. “Her past experience in supervision of construction projects and strategic planning will be well-received by the board.”
Marchand’s background also includes serving as a president of the RI Water Works Association and chair of the RI Water Resources Board. She is a Syracuse University graduate.
garymm
6:53 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
The appointment of Ms. Marchand is hoped to establish a new direction for BCWA.
However, the BCWA Board did not distinguish itself in this search. The sessions to complete the candidate reviews were not in compliance with RI law, nor was there an INDEPENDENT vetting of the final candidates as promised. Neither did the board itself make a serious inquiry on the Providence matter.
Ms. Marchand will have her hands full at BCWA. There remains the issue of the BCWA strategic master plan. A comprehensive master plan is the door to additional state funding for BCWA. How this critical document has remained "under construction" for so long is something Chairman Jannitto might explain.
Perhaps the answer can be found in the FY2013 BCWA capital budget, also discussed last night. This appears to be based on only one project, the Franklin Court Senior Center pipeline repair ($200-$400K). It was explained last night that because of the current debt load, the bond covenants would be broken if BCWA actually budgets improvement projects into the FY2013 capital budget.
Add to this the fact that the water mains are no longer being flushed due to a desire for cost savings (vs. the potential health hazard). And BCWA has still not secured long term water rights for the Mass reservoirs as was required by the RIWRB (now an 18 year overdue issue).
The extended list of issues that have languished should be the basis for a "to do" list.
Best wishes to Exec Marchand!
Please volunteer
10:39 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Mr. Morse: Thanks for your reply to my question. Somehow I cannot respond to your other comment directly.
Guess we'll have to wait and see how proactive Ms. Marchand will be in stopping the appearance or reality of this inappropriate behavior pattern you speak of.
I want to think there's hope going forward. Thus my reluctance to bash her before she's even installed...
garymm
7:55 am on Monday, February 13, 2012
PV
Ms. Marchand is well aware of the bulk of problems at BCWA. As Vice-Chair of the RI Water Resources Board, in March 2011, she seconded a motion to: "defer action until legal counsel could review the intent of the Bristol County Water Authority Act" essentially expressing the fact that in 2011, the RIWRB was not sure about the legalities of funding BCWA's projects under the 1993 Act.
http://sos.ri.gov/documents/publicinfo/omdocs/minutes/378/2011/22018.pdf
The next month, the RIWRB voted unanimously to limit future funding to BCWA to only supporting BCWA's efforts to obtaining the water rights and permits in Massachusetts, and also rejected BCWA's submission of their master plan: "Motion by Mr. Flynn, second by Ms. Swallow to approve that Bristol County Water Authority pursue the permitting process under the $6.9 Million allocated by law. Further, that Board approval of the Authority’s master plan be deferred until more information is available."
http://sos.ri.gov/documents/publicinfo/omdocs/minutes/378/2011/22391.pdf
Since those two votes in March and April 2011, the full legal review by the RIWRB remains incomplete, the Mass permits have not been obtained, and submission of a comprehensive master plan remains a work in progress.
Manifold Witness
7:18 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
$250,000. Secrets. Mutual legal releases.
Oh my.
$250,000. That's what? About the size of the BCWA's entire capital budget for 2012 & 2013 before subsequent reductions?
Oh my.
$250,000. Did that get passed on to BCWA in a Providence rate increase yet?
What are Mr. Jannitto’s credentials?
He’s staying?
Oh my.
Mrs. Mack must be giddy.
My, oh my.
Please volunteer
9:05 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I recognize that I may be coming in late into the conversation, but there is something I don't understand: Why, if everyone is so justifiably unhappy with Mr. Janitto's performance, or with the entire Board for that matter, don't the Councils simply remove them and appoint a new Board?
Bristol County Anonymous
10:01 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Good question.
“Cronyism” is the answer.
In two years of following this, I have seen a sickening amount of it.
Three of our Barrington Councilors re-appointed the same old crony directors year-after-year, and have done their best to ignore evidence presented to them that BCWA has been mismanaged for years, which has resulted in a total mess. Ms. Coin is new, but if I recall correctly, she recently voted to re-appoint Mr. Klepper, while Councilor DeWitt did not vote to re-appoint Mr. Klepper.
In Barrington, other than Councilor DeWitt, I have not seen that the Councilors have carefully and objectively evaluated the BCWA matters that have come before them, or made decisions in consideration of what is best for all their constituents.
However, there is hope for change. Besides Councilor DeWitt in Barrington, Warren Councilors Lial, Bolster and Ms. Tattrie have been standing up to the BCWA situation, and also Bristol Councilor Teixeira, and at times, some of the others. And over the past two years, public volunteers have spent considerable time and energy exposing the BCWA problems, and asking government officials to address the problems.
The latest episode is very troubling. In spite of well publicized advice from Gary Morse and others over the need to make sure that BCWA properly “vetted” the employment history of the applicants for the Exec Director, the “vetting process” was botched, and now we see more dishonestly from Jannitto.
garymm
10:14 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
PV
It is my impression that many in the local government food chain would be embarrased by a full BCWA disclosure.
There is solid evidence for cronyism and wrongful financial gain which certain council members are aware of. I know this for a fact. The councils did nothing with this information.
It was always hoped that a new beginning could avoid some very embarrassing disclosures, and it is hoped Ms. Marchand will squash all prior cronyism. The first evidence of that will be with her ending the board's endless meddling in the operational affairs of BCWA, like approving Sandra Mack's absurd legal fee structure previously at $475 per hour, and now at $375.
Bristol County Anonymous
7:48 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
GoLocalProv article on Dec 13, 2011 (excerpt):
“The exact reason for the change in leadership is unclear, but sources close to the situation say the city had been unhappy with her job performance and the problems came to a head following Tropical Storm Irene.”
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/water-supply/
Please volunteer
10:28 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thanks for your explanation. Somehow I cannot reply to your other posting.
Indeed, this sounds like a total mess. From the various articles, it's hard to say how much of this (if any) is truly malicious, and how much is due to incompetence and passive neglect.
It also sounds like the Board needs to be much more careful, consistent, and transparent when communicating with the rate payers.
But as you say, there is a glimmer of hope.
I, for one, wish Ms. Marchand good luck disentangling this web.
marina peterson
11:24 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Now that a new Executive Director is in place we will hopefully see important projects like flushing of our water mains, Low water pressure in Bristol/Warren, Franklin Center issue, and, most important, a comprehensive audit of all funds distributed under the Bristol Water County Authority Supply act be moved to the front burners. I imagine that the audit will take top priority so that the Executive Director will know exactly what has transpired before her, and how to move forward. We wish her well with these important projects; the tasks are daunting to say the least.
Many were disappointed by the lack of transparency in the selection process, since it was stated at the onset that the final interviews would be public. Guess they changed their mind.
Please volunteer
11:48 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Coaching from the bench is easy, and it is also unfair.
I question why, if Mr. Gary Morse and Manifold Witness have so much to say, they haven't volunteered to be part of the BCWA Board of Directors. There have certainly been vacancies lately.
As for intimations that there was something shady in Ms. Marchand's departure from Providence Water, it is hard to imagine that anyone would be allowed to leave any job with a severance pay of that size if her performance had been unsatisfactory.
It would be quite American, and therefore "patriotic" to give Ms. Marchand an opportunity to prove what she has to offer before anyone starts attacking her.
marina peterson
12:17 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
I think folks are just disenchanted with the lack of transparency (and I know we are so tired of that word!) and are expressing their feelings in that respect. We were all told that the interviewing of the final candidates would be public, and there are some genuine concerns about any vetting that was done was not done by an impartial party. I think we all wish Ms. Marchand well and are hoping to get on to some of the very important issues that have been held in abeyance for the last few months. What you hear is frustration and concern. I think everyone will agree that one of the most important issues to be faced is a complete audit of the funds paid to BCWA by the Bristol County Water Authority Supply Act. I am sure that no matter who was chosen as Executive Director, they would want that information as a baseline.
garymm
1:27 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Please volunteer,
As far as "coaching from the bench", the councils have made clear that if volunteering for a BCWA slot, you must give up your freedom of stating the truth and become a BCWA team player.
I think more progress has been made by being off the team than being on the team. As far as it being "easy", you have no idea how many hours have been put in by volunteers to dig through the BCWA rhetoric.
Did you know that BCWA had stopped flushing the water mains to allegedly save money?? Did any board member ask to see a report on the annual flushing of water mains? No!
Some facts on that to chew on:
In April of 1993, an outbreak of cryptosporidium occurred in the Milwaukee water supply. At least 104 deaths were attributed to this outbreak. The root cause was suspected to be either runoff from upstream cattle pastures, or, from an upstream waste water treatment plant.
30% of BCWA's raw water is coming through an intake pipe on the Kickemuit River where, upstream, there exists similar conditions. (reference - 2002 Study by Brown University: Septic Systems in the Smokerise Development, Swansea, MA, along with the piles of manure that are a short distance from the intake pipe on the Kickemuit).
Now tell me which of the board members reviewed this issue on behalf of ratepayers. Look at the reports and see how long it's been since your street was last flushed clean. It's supposed to be done annually.
Manifold Witness
12:21 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
If not the bench, where does one coach from, Please?
Don't have to be on the BCWA board to have an opinion - that's also American as apple pie, Please. Especially since we're payin' the bills over there at the BCWA.
Mutual legal releases? Not for nothin' as we say in RI.
Please don't confuse "critique" with "attack".
Bottom line....it's the same ol' RI same ol' at the BCWA. Just don't expect us to pretend (as in "pretend treatment plant") that we don't notice.
Bristol County Anonymous
12:34 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
“If we don't get the letter today we will have to reconvene, debate and vote on termination.”
Hmmmmmmm…
Mr. Jannitto claims there was a “vetting process”?
From above Patch article:
“Asked if Marchand had been relieved of her position, Jannitto said: “She was not removed.” If Marchand had been terminated, he said, the board would have found out about it in the vetting process.”
Wonder what exact “Vetting Process” was done?
And...how Jannitto reconciles the following quote to his supposed “vetting process”:
From GOLOCALProv article (Dec 12, 2011):
“On Monday, Smiley sent another e-mail to the board explaining that Marchand had still not submitted her formal resignation. Smiley continued: “If we don't get the letter today we will have to reconvene, debate and vote on termination.”
A call to Marchand’s lawyer was not returned.”
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/water-supply/
Please volunteer
4:36 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
As a Barrington resident, I am also "payin'" the bills. So please don't confuse wanting to allow an Executive Director who hasn't even started to have a fair chance at trying to straighten out this enormous mess with not seeing the issues for what they are.
And, having sat on many Boards of Directors, I still think the best way to effect change on the outcome of any vote is to actually have vote.
My comments are simply the expression of my -American as apple pie- opinion.
Manifold Witness
4:49 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Right again, Dr. Please, the Board is to blame for this "enormous mess" that now has to be "straightened out" by those who "actually have vote".
Bristol County Anonymous
6:05 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
“Please Volunteer Director”, please share your info / insight on this:
From above Patch article:
“Asked if Marchand had been relieved of her position, Jannitto said: “She was not removed.” If Marchand had been terminated, he said, the board would have found out about it in the vetting process.”
BUT…
Jannitto’s statement does reconcile to the following quote from Prov Water Supply Board Chairman Bret Smiley:
“If we don't get the letter today we will have to reconvene, debate and vote on termination.”
Wow…that’s pretty clear...
“Vote on Termination”… “if we don’t get the letter today”.
So, it appears that Jannitto is not telling us the whole truth. Or, perhaps he did not really do the “vetting process” he claimed was done. Either way, it’s bad. Same old BCWA.
From GOLOCALProv article (Dec 12, 2011):
“On Monday, Smiley sent another e-mail to the board explaining that Marchand had still not submitted her formal resignation. Smiley continued: “If we don't get the letter today we will have to reconvene, debate and vote on termination.”
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/water-supply/
Mr. Jannitto has some explaining to do on his "vetting process".
Please volunteer
6:58 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Again, not defending the Board 's actions/ historical inaction.
Do I have any explanation/ insight? No.
And neither do you, unless you were either on the Providence Board at that time, or on the BCWA's Board this time, which I presume you weren't.
But you might have some actual info/ insight if you had volunteered to be part of the Board. And that's my entire point.
CBS Eye
8:35 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Glad we could leave our BCWA problems of controversy and opacity behind.
The generous severance, promise not to sue or disparage and the supplied recommendation could, indeed, mean Ms. Marchand was a highly valued employee. On the other hand, one might conclude that, after placing her on administrative leave and demanding a resignation, Providence was willing to spend a substantial amount to send her on her way--right into the welcoming, sheltering arms of the BCWA.
Either way, it doesn't sound like there's going to be much more transparency in the future than there was in the past. With any luck, Mr. Janitto's collective nemesis (what was he calling them....The Gang o' Four? Chicago Seven? Crips & Bloods? Public Enemy Number Four? It was something very, very dangerous, I think) will continue to pry into the dealings of this "quasi-public" utility.
Don't be fatuous
12:52 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
Were this not serious, it would be hilarious... One really could not make this stuff up.
??Transparency?? The whole article ought to be headlined "Jannito throws Klepper under the bus"...
Recall from http://barrington.patch.com/articles/interviews-starting-for-bcwa-chief . where Mr Klepper says:
"The subtotals will be added up and divided by 5 to give each candidate a final weighted score. Background checks also will be done on the top 3-4 finalists.
At that point, the board will determine the very best candidates and make their names public, said Klepper. Their names will not be released until then to protect the identity of candidates...."
A GOOGLE search on "Pamela Marchand" shows no hits mentioning her, or any other "very best candidates" being made public in the context of any BCWA search.
When did any such "very best candidates" announcement happen, if ever?
garymm
4:17 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
I'm confident a full account of this will be provided to the town councils, particularly at the upcoming Warren Town Council meeting which I think is next week.
DownTown
10:21 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Yeah, when they came out and said the job was posted on the internet I checked every job board monster, careerbuilder, indeed, simplyhired, craigslist, rijobs, and a few more with no results. Indeed and Simplyhired spider every job board so if they don't have it it probably wasn't posted anywhere that could get a good turnout of qualified applicants.
garymm
5:07 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
Chairman Jannitto was quoted as saying:
"When asked if anyone from the BCWA contacted the Providence Water Supply Board in an effort to check on Ms. Marchand’s performance there, Mr. Jannitto said he believed someone did, but could not specify who".
http://www.eastbayri.com/news/2012/feb/09/bcwa-hires-new-director/
Was Ms. Marchand's performance measured by the prettiest resume? Where is the written report provided to the board members on Ms. Marchand's performance when at the PWSB (or for that matter, the reports on all the final candidates)?
Chairman Jannitto has simply created a new BCWA controversy even before Ms. Marchand's first day on the job.
It was unfair to Ms. Marchand, and unfair to the community.
Manifold Witness
7:12 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
What are Jannitto's credentials?
Who put this guy on the board of our water authority? Who made this guy the chairman?
It's like Bizarro World.
Kramer: "What did you want to see me about, Mr. Leland?"
Mr. Leland: "Kramer, I've been reviewing your work. Quite frankly, it stinks."
Kramer: "Well, I've been having trouble at home and, uh, I'll work harder. Nights, weekends, whatever it takes."
Mr. Leland:"No, no, I don't think that's going to do it. These reports you handed in, it's almost as if you have no business training at all. I don't know what this is supposed to be."
Kramer: "Well, I'm just trying to get ahead."
Mr. Leland:"I'm sorry, there's just no way that we can keep you on."
Kramer: "I don't even really work here."
Mr. Leland:"That's what makes this so difficult."
marina peterson
9:34 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
I think we are all most upset about the broken promise of revealing the top candidates and having the final interview by open to the public. But... let's face it. What else is new? The credibility of this board is ZERO!
So, we now have a new Executive Director and I want to wish her well. Apparently Mr. Jannitto knows she is coming into a totally mismanaged and chaotic situation which is evident by his statement "And I think she knows what she’s getting into.”
I would hope that one of her very first orders of business would be to put out an RFP for legal services in the hopes of getting out from under the astronomical $375.00 an hour (discounted from $475.00 per hour) rate that they are paying now! Now that would be a step in the right direction! And the savings could be put toward the flushing of the lines!
I have received a communication from BCWA stating that the flushing of the main water lines will commence in April. This much needed procedure was discontinued four years ago by Delise to "save money". The last thing we need right now would be an outbreak of cryptosporidium!
marina peterson
12:16 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
One thing we can all be thankful for... I am quite sure that Ms. Marchand will not even consider spending $20,400 for a consultant to tell her which software to buy for the BCWA!! Having come from a computerized water authority I am sure she will feel more than comfortable with having presentations by software companies and choosing a program that she feels will fill her needs.
DownTown
12:47 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
This was posted on projo it gives a bit of insight into why she was fired.
"Yet the Water Supply Board has no problem buying out the Chief Engineer's 3 year contract at $150,000 a year. Why? Because the CE wouldn't cooperate with the Board in hiring practices. That's nearly $450,000 wasted on one individual.
This is typical of the waste in Providence government."
Bristol County Anonymous
8:53 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
DownTown, to me the most outrageous aspect of this latest BCWA bungle, is the dishonesty from Mr. Jannitto:
From above article:
"Asked if Marchand had been relieved of her position, Jannitto said: “She was not removed.” If Marchand had been terminated, he said, the board would have found out about it in the vetting process."
DownTown
9:11 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Its quite obvious she was removed but the rather large hush money payout makes me wonder if the PWSB had real legal grounds to terminate her.
I mean a firing with a solid basis is just that a firing.
Either she was hiring friends and family or she refused to hire their friends and family.
That aside Jannitto is treating the ratepayers like small children with that quote.
Not only was she removed but people in the city know why. I may reach out to that poster and see if they'll let a little more detail out.
Jack Baillargeron
1:21 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
After doing some reseach on the new director's early carreer in the 80's after college., I found that her first job was at a water authority that went back to the 1800's like the BCWA. Reading thir web site, the similariies to the BCWA are amazing. I do not know the extentof her hand in he revitalizing of the authority, but it seems to be doing very well and makes the BCWA loo like people going to the river with a bucket.
In anycase interesting read. here is the link.
http://www.ocwa.org/o14.html
brian m
5:04 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Jack Tks for the link. Great article. Before anyone criticize's Ms. Marchand let's give her a chance to see what she does. One must realize the exective director runs the authority, not the board members. She was the best qualified person ( knowledge and experience) for the position. Who cares why she left Prov Water. Could it be new board members appointed by the mayor. Just give her time.
Jack Baillargeron
8:06 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
You are welcome brian, it is amazing the comparison of the 2 authorities history's being so similiar.
marina peterson
6:21 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Let's hope that she immediately calls for an audit of all funds distributed under the Bristol County Water Authority Supply Act.. to see what came in and where it went. Without this valuable information to clear the air, she will be unable to start fresh. And the $375.00 per hour lawyer has to go. It's time for an RFP!!!
brian m
8:24 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Why hasn't any board member made a moltion to put a RFP out for legal service's. I asked about a RFP for legal and was told that the board could do whatever it wanted with legal services that it wasn't required to be put out for bid.
garymm
12:45 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Excellent point Brian! It does appear the BCWA board under Chairman Jannitto lacks the courage to make this motion in spite of the controversy, and in spite of the fact that the councils have expressed their desire that this motion to be made.
My guess is that they are all waiting to be forced into this with the new BCWA Charter language.
One might speculate that none on the board want to be walking around with a proverbial sign around their neck: "rate payer advocate".
Bristol County Anonymous
8:53 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
The reasons why Prov Water was so unhappy with Ms. Marchand that they paid her a large sum of money to resign (according to emails quoted in the golocalprov article, if she had refused to provide a resignation letter the board would “vote on termination”) is relevant and should have been fully vetted.
From the golocalprov article, it seems that Prov Water was unhappy with Ms. Marchand due to her performance, and this should have been fully explored with Prov Water management as part of the vetting process.
Excerpt from golocalprov article:
“…sources close to the situation say the city had been unhappy with her job performance and the problems came to a head following Tropical Storm Irene.”
http://www.golocalprov.com/news/water-supply/
Especially considering that BCWA is dependent on Prov Water for most of the water re-sold to us, and thus BCWA management needs have a good relationship with Prov Water management, etc.
We need to know the history to decide if we would be happy if history repeats itself.
The vetting process was botched if Prov Water wasn’t consulted for a reference check.
And Mr. Jannitto’s dishonesty is disgusting.
DownTown
9:42 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I don't completely buy that it was a one way street. They paid her hush money for some reason otherwise why didn't they just terminate her?
I have a hard time getting around why someone who was going to be terminated would get such a generous severance package. This type of package would be given to someone with tremendous bargaining power.
Also the agreement for them not to disparage her along with the letter of recommendation - What would they tell the BCWA?
“Specifically, we provided her 14 months pay, 14 months of insurance and a letter of recommendation. We have an agreement not to sue or disparage one another.”
Jack Baillargeron
10:09 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I agree the vetting was obviously not done properly, and we may never know how i was done, if at all considering the BCWA record on information and secrecy above all else they hide everything they can.
I do however think that, we have no choice but to give her a chance. I agree with the Jannitto's statement also, he needs to resign and mack fired. The only conclusion I can come to on why these things have not happened is the knowledge of skeletons in the closet are know by a few people it seems in my opinion.
To downtown, I do ot knowif it is hush money or not, however it is my understandng it was a 3 year contract, this is actually pretty normal for a buy out of a contract. I suspect if she did not resign, she coul have sued and got much more, and providence water decided to call a bluff, with the termination, since the resignation was last minute of the last day, that seems a likely senario, but that is all it is a senario.
We cannot change it now since I would imagine contract are allready signed, so we will have to wait and see, as I said before, let hope she believes in transparentc, and if she should find shady ealings from the past, that she wll expose them and bring in the proper authorities. I also hope she demands a foensic audit, to cover herself as well as to get the tust of the ratepayers and taxpayer back. For me that is the only thing that wll accomplish that. To much unexplained money shenaigans there.
Jack Baillargeron
10:16 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I also have been trying to find informatin on providence water having any problems during Irene. Can't seem to find any. I would think if she had some major problems that that caused them to be upset withher performance in irene, we would have seen somthing or at least a new article about it.
This also could be justa clash of personalities with her also, or disgruntled employee's, politics (which in providence is even more likely then here) etc. we could go around forever on this type of merry go round. lol
Oh well, I think I beat that to death anway lol.
DownTown
10:45 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Grounds for dismissal would be built into a contract so if they had grounds she would have been terminated;
Think about it. Providence is leaning against the Chapter 9 doorway and they give away that type of cash just like that? It makes their 'well if we don't have her resignation we'll vote to terminate' ring hollow.
More importantly whats the pay package for her at the BCWA? That should be pubic knowledge.
Bristol County Anonymous
10:50 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
According to the cited emails, Prov Water would have proceeded with a "vote on termintation".
The possible existence of "bargaining power" in these kinds of situations does not necessarily mean there was good performance. Also, the "bargaining power" had it's limits, as according to the emails cited in the article, they were prepared to proceed with a "vote on termination", apparantly based on "take-it-or-leave-it" as far as the deal that was being offered. And, there are many possible scenerios where "bargaining power" would exist in termination negotiations, even if there is poor performance.
It is the possible poor performance and exact reasons behind the termination that BCWA should have vetted and independantly confirmed. The existence of the severance / settlement agreement is a red flag that the circumstances needed to be independantly checked out. In the event Prov Water officials would have refused to comment, and if there was no other way to independantly investigate the circumstances of what happened, then that is a problem. We should not be taking a known chance on such an important position. History repeats itself, and we don't know some important details of her recent history...for which there are "red-flags" of the existence possible performance issues, based on the golocalprov article...and that stinks.
It is too bad that Mr. Jannitto put Ms. Marchand and us in this situation.
If he was more honest, we could rely on his judgment.
Jack Baillargeron
11:36 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
well you are right and your suposition could be right also Downtown and anonymous, the fact remains, that we really have no power to change this outcome at this time.
It is obvious there is a lot about this that seems suspect in any case, however, until we see what her acts are and what kind of things she imprements, it is all just an argument in futility with out a lot more information. As usual I do not fore see information being forthcoming from Councils or the BCWA on these issues of concern.
So we are in wait and see mode in my opinion until something of more substance is revealed.
Jack Baillargeron
9:26 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Lets hope she does not run for the hills, when she looks into the secret homeland security vault containing all the records we have asked for and not been given. I agree with and audit, as new director it would be prudent to do an audit of all of the Delise years, to see why they are in financial ruin and how it happened, you need to know what they did wrong so the past is not repeated.
I also think the Towns should find a way to fund a forensic audit of the BCWA since it’s enabling legislation, the reason the towns should pay for it, is that they have a better chance of funding it, and after all they are as much to blame as the past boards and past director. This half-asinine audit that was done, did not touch the tip of the iceberg as most know. The BCWA did not get this way in a couple of years, it got this way over a few decades. There covenant did not get this way in a few years either, and it appears no effort has been made to pay the bond down for the pipeline. They owe almost as much as when they borrowed it. I still thinks that’s fishy, but it is only my opinion.
Well we should have some concern of the way she left, time will tell if it is a problem or just a misunderstanding, in any case. For now it is what it is and we have to wait and see. Her qualifications seem quite in order to me anyway, her management skill will become apparent in her employee dealings and the contracts.
Lets hope the ratepayers finally get respect from the BCWA.
marina peterson
12:43 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
I think we all have to stay on target to have the BCWA send out an RFP for legal services, and do an audit of Bristol County Water Authority Supply Act funds. It is up to all of us to write letters, etc. to our town council members and press requesting that Ms. Marchand perform these two functions as soon as possible.
DownTown
5:46 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Marina, my personal target is to have someone at the BCWA come forward and explain who paid for the water pipe upgrade on Ferry Road and why RWU was allowed to give away their water tower maintenance costs to the BCWA in an agreement where Ms Matrone acted as legal counsel for both sides in an obvious conflict of interest.
So for me that is staying on target.
Jack Baillargeron
1:57 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
I agree Marina, however I suspect the Councils will say, that is what the Board is for. Having said that, I think the Councils should be very forceful in demanding a forensic audits of financial, Past contracts for work performed, all these study's, RWU water Tower deal etc. So this can all finally be brought to light and a fres start be made.
I do not expect the Bristol council to be for it though. When I brought it up for last few years, it fell on deaf ears. Perhaps now thy will see the errors of their way and exspose everything like it should have been done yearss ago, and much of this debacle could have been avoided. A Gary would I am sure say, had they looked at all this 5 or 6 years ago, there would be a lot less of the financial problems today.
I also still thing more house cleaning need to be done in the Board area. Fresh start is a must in their, so that the new director is not taken in by the past practices of the so called old petes as they say ;-}.
marina peterson
11:27 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Absolutely Down Town! We all have things that are important to us and we should all voice our opinions in that respect! thanks for your comments!
marina peterson
12:03 am on Monday, February 13, 2012
I'm sure everyone knows this but I want to clarify that I only write under my own name.... just to clear up any confusion.