Limit Water Authority Board Terms

The Barrington, Warren and Bristol Town Councils split Thursday night on this recommendation by the ad hoc committee formed to review the legislation that created the Bristol County Water Authority.

Limit the number of terms members of the board of directors of the Bristol County Water Authority can serve. The town councils from Barrington, Warren and Bristol batted around this recommendation at length Thursday evening in a tri-town meeting in Warren Town Hall. It was one of 14 recommendations from the ad hoc task force formed by the councilors to study the enabling legislation that created the BCWA and its bylaws in the wake of the critical performance audit done by B&E Consulting. A straw poll called for by Barrington Town Council Vice President Jeff Brenner after lengthy debate showed that 6 of the 13 councilors in the Council Chamber favor term limits. Two were absent. But comments for and against term limits left a future …

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Jack Baillargeron

7:54 pm on Friday, December 9, 2011

I agree that it may wor Marina, though I do have a concern with the banning service for life after serving the term, hat would need to be addressed in my opinon, if for no other reason then a 25 year old serving and then 30 years later with more knowledge and maybe education may want to serve again, especially if it was a young person who did very well at it. That is what I mean by up sides and …   more ›

Letter to the Editor

BCWA Chairman Takes Shot at Critics

Bristol County Water Authority chairman John Jannitto says there are four things to know about the agency.

Here are four things you should know about the BCWA:  John M. Jannitto, Chairman of the Board, Bristol County Water Authority

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Gary Morse

6:15 am on Sunday, October 23, 2011

Responding to Chairman Jannitto's comment -"and engage pension experts to defend well made choices by this board." In mid year 2010, the BCWA Board, none of whom are financial professionals, took action to increase the pension plans assumed rate of return from 6% to 8%. This vote was done without the written advice of their own pension investment advisor. The below is from the Office of the …   more ›

Councilors Told to Keep Water Authority Independent of PUC

Walter Edge of B&E Consulting, answering questions from the Barrington Town Council, reiterates the recommendation in the 'performance audit' that BCWA continue to set its own rates.

The Town Council finally spent some time Tuesday evening going face to face with the consultants who completed the performance audit of the Bristol County Water Authority.  Only two of the councilors, however, Kate Weymouth and Bill DeWitt, asked questions of Walter Edge, president of B&E Consulting, and an associate who worked on the rate study in the report. And Weymouth’s questions dominated most of the 30-minute session with the consultants. Weymouth’s questions did confirm three separate issues: DeWitt’s question confirmed that the water authority board or the executive director, Pasquale DeLise, have not talked with B&E since the critical audit was released in mid-June. “The audit gave us valuable insight into BCWA,” said Weymouth, …

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Gary Morse

1:53 pm on Thursday, September 8, 2011

Brian, It is widely understood that the union's job was to bargain hard for it's members. To blame the union for BCWA's problems is simply an attempt to distract from the real issue being that the Board failed in it's duties to be a proper counter balance. Every time I hear that "it's the union contract", I remind myself who is saying this, and why.   more ›

Councilor, Critics Go Toe to Toe With Water Authority Directors

Two of the three Barrington directors on the Bristol County Water Authority board get involved in often contentious exchanges over the need for and the lack of a plan and costs for the Shad pipeline project.

Two of Barrington’s three directors on the board of the Bristol County Water Authority appeared before the Town Council Monday night. The rambling presentation they made as their monthly report seemed to please no one. BCWA directors Alan Klepper and Lloyd Matsumoto appeared before the councilors. They preceded their appearance by sending pages of information to the council that were barely referred to during a 90-minute exchange that sometimes grew into a contentious give-and-take. Councilor Bill DeWitt, the liaison to the BCWA, had expected the directors to return with answers to a series of questions he sent to the three Barrington directors and Pasquale DeLise, executive director of the water authority, on the controversial Shad …

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Gary Morse

6:44 am on Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The issue of the ability to remove water from the Shad Pond in Rehoboth, Ma via the Shad Pipeline (that rate payers will pay millions to install) is that this is being challenged by Rehoboth as we speak. Rehoboth claims they have final jurisdiction over "how much" water can be withdrawn from the Shad depending upon seasonal conditions. BCWA claims it can withdraw all the water it wants from the …   more ›