Morse: Something rotten in the Bristol County Water Authority
December 21st, 2011 at 6:00 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
By Gary Morse
Nearly two years ago, the Bristol County Water Authority moved to get a 12% hike in local water rates. The implications of this fateful request are still reverberating in the East Bay, and the path that led from a utility increase to the threat of a lawsuit against four ratepayers has now become a news story of its own.
In early 2010, BCWA went to the Barrington Town Council to explain the need for such a steep rate increase. (The BCWA Board of Directors is made up of nine directors, with the town councils of Barrington, Bristol and Warren appointing three members each.) By the end of the meeting, Councilor Jeff Brenner was moved to remark: “Yogi Berra has nothing on some of the explanations given here tonight.”
Four East Bay residents – now known as the “East Bay Four” – decided to take the lead and began trying to find out what was really going on. Along with myself, the rest of the East Bay Four are Jeff and Janice Black of Barrington, and Bristol resident Marina Peterson of the East Bay Patriots.
To say that BCWA was not receptive to ratepayer involvement is a gross understatement. Over the course of our two-year quest, certain BCWA representatives were known for yelling at ratepayers who dared to ask questions, in an effort to scare them off and ensure no one would dare come back. BCWA was also paying its attorney handsomely to run interference against the public.
At a meeting last month, Warren Town Councilor Scott Lial asked BCWA Board Chairman John Jannitto why he sent a letter on Oct. 19 to various state agencies requesting information about the East Bay Four. “We may have a purpose for it later on,” Jannitto replied. Asked if the BCWA attorney was involved, Jannitto said, “No.”
But that was not true. And though Jannitto’s letter was not authorized by the board, he used BCWA letterhead and signed it with his official title. Jannitto directed that a variety of information about the East Bay Four be sent to his home: emails, dates of meetings and conversations from the past two years.
At the Oct. 12 BCWA board meeting, director Lloyd Matsumoto asked to go into executive session to discuss bringing litigation against three individuals (myself, Peterson and “the Blacks”). But it was not on that agenda.
On Nov. 2, a board subcommittee met in executive session to discuss litigation against the East Bay Four. That session was illegal and called without proper notice. The board published that same illegal notice for Nov. 10, but didn’t go into executive session on that occasion. The board never voted to sue, and its members now say they had no intention of doing so.
Another BCWA board member, Joseph DeMelo, was quoted by East Bay Newspapers as saying “the inquiries put forth by Mr. Jannitto were discussed during executive session, but were not made on behalf of the board.” When asked what motivated Jannitto’s inquiries, DeMelo speculated, “I guess he’s maybe looking for, I hate to say it, retribution.”
But retribution for what?
The Blacks prevailed in numerous complaints filed with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office against BCWA for illegal agendas, noncompliant public records policies and its failure to respond promptly to records requests. BCWA’s attorney billed $65,000 for defending the agency against a possible fine of $1,000. Jannitto said that the AG’s decision triggered his desire to investigate the East Bay Four. On Oct. 14, the Blacks sent BCWA a cease-and-desist notice to stop defaming them.
The East Bay Four have continued to ask an important question that remains unanswered: Why have the millions of dollars in state funds poured into BCWA since 1993 never been properly audited?
The East Bay Four caught Jannitto and Mack trying to convince the board to threaten us with a SLAPP suit (strategic lawsuit against public participation) in an effort to intimidate us into ending our inquiries and to scare off others who have been working with us. Fortunately, Rhode Island has a strong anti-SLAPP statute.
Also – and in stark contrast to BCWA – the Rhode Island Water Resources Board appropriately considered the information, concerns and questions brought forward by the East Bay Four, and has now revised its statewide strategic plan to put BCWA on a more prudent and cost-effective path than the antiquated one they had been virtually ignoring – to great expense –since 1996. A recent performance audit by B&E Consulting confirmed our concerns, as well.
East Bay Newspapers and AOL’s Patch sites in Barrington and Bristol-Warren have run numerous stories about these issues, as has reporter Jim Hummel. East Bay Newspapers ran an editorial in support of the East Bay Four, and both Operation Clean Government and the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition sent letter of support that were published in each of the aforementioned publications.
The East Bay Four certainly don’t deserve to be threatened with a lawsuit. And BCWA’s ratepayers, as well as state taxpayers, deserve to know from Mr. Jannitto and Mrs. Mack that the tens of millions poured into BCWA since 1993 will be subject to at least one proper audit. If BCWA truly wanted to regain the public trust, they would do this audit. At the moment, they don’t appear willing.
Gary Morse is a Barrington resident and a spokesman for Operation Clean Government and the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition.
Ted Nesi will return on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
Tags: access to public records act, apra, barrington, bcwa, bristol, bristol county water authority, east bay, gary morse, op-eds, open government, open meetings, open records, transparency, warren
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
I lived in Bristol. I had an issue with them. Their staff are rude, ignorant and don’t listen when a person talks. Not surprised this place is now seen as run by crooked indiviuals. The apple certainly doesn’t fall far from the tree in regards to their staff.
What can we do as ratepayers to help get rid of this corruption in the BCWA. I want to know why this audit has not happened yet.
Peggy,
The short answer is that BCWA attorney Sandra Mack has previously run interference on a full forensic financial audit when she turned the 2010 B&E Consulting audit into a “Performance Audit” only. In August 2010, she informed the town councils that BCWA would not participate in a full audit unless financials were removed. The councils caved for reasons unknown. The State Auditor General has NEVER touched this in spite of millions in state money being involved.
The problem with Mack’s August 2010 statement is that the BCWA Board only took up the matter in September 2010, not before. So where did she get the authority to speak for the board?
The new town council members elected in Nov 2010 are more interested in this matter, along with a minority of the old council members. There is only a minority of the council members who truly want to get to the bottom of this and thus interference is easy to run with each of the town councils.
I lived in Warren for my whole life until 3 years ago, and this honestly does not surprise me. There were always rumors that BCWA were not completely honest with how they reported things and many of my family members still in the area were outraged with the hikes. The way I see, it seems that Warren, Bristol and Barrington just allowed these things to happen. Wouldn’t be surprised if this goes much, much deeper into the town leaderships. This is Rhode Island afterall…..
The BCWA was just named to Arlene Violet’s “naughty’ list.
The East Bay Four were named to Ms. Violet’s “nice” list. (That’s even better than being “Time” Magazine’s “Person” of the Year – the Protestor.)
http://bristol-warren.patch.com/articles/arlene-violet-puts-bcwa-on-santa-s-naughty-list
http://www.eastbayri.com/news/2011/dec/19/santa-lists-whos-naughty-or-nice/
In the spirit of Arlene Violet’s “nice” list, I’ll give a special holiday thanks to three town council members in the East Bay who have put in a lot of hours of their own time to try to unravel the BCWA mess:
Tony Teixeira of Bristol
Scott Lial of Warren
Bill DeWitt of Barrington
They deserve special recognition from the East Bay community.
Then there are those councilors who should be on the “naughty list”. No further comment is needed.
Continued scrutiny of BCWA is needed until all the rot is exposed.
How true, how true, though “naughty” is an understatement to me? This is an has always been about the BCWA and the Board not seeing to the needs of its customers or the taxpayers, that own it, lock, stock, and barrel.
Why is the bond for the Pipeline hardly had a cent spent to have the principle reduced, why is the bond at 1.26, when 1.25 puts it in default.
Why has the complaints of 2,400 customers, with very low water pressure been ignored for decades. Why are 50% of the Fire Hydrants on the system under standards set by the NFPA, (National Fire Protection Association) according to the recent PARE report.
Where is the outrage from the councils to ask for a house cleaning after a superficial and watered down B&E report, showed major problems with in not only the management and labor waste, but a system of ineptitude and draconian business practices that go back to the original company, Yes the board actually has admitted that on occasion, that is about how modern and forward thing this BCWA has been under the current leadership in management and the Board over the last 20 years or so.
The delays and transparency and reports, or studies are the only thing this BCWA does. Get rid of this monstrosity immediately, it is obvious there is no saving it or any real need for it, other than to be a transfer station for Providence Water Authority.
Like many others who have fought this BCWA I am tired of the Politics involved which are so obvious to me and many others.
BCWA Rant on Ratepayer (#2 in series). December 20, 2011 ratepayer objects to illegal meetings on December 19, 2011 & December 20, 2011. BCWA Director Allan Klepper yells & swears at ratepayer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOjogJe2-uM&feature=youtu.be
BCWA Rant on Ratepayer – February 3, 2010 BCWA rate hearing.
The ratepayer needed information to prepare for the hearing but BCWA withheld public records. BCWA Director Allan Klepper yells at ratepayer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6HtnEj7-YM