TALLADEGA — The City Council voted 3-1 Monday night in favor of a resolution calling for the resignations of three of the five members of the Talladega Water and Sewer Board. Councilman Dr. Horace Patterson cast the dissenting vote.Although water board members are appointed by the council, the council lacks any legal authority to remove a board member before their term expires.
Monday night's vote of no confidence was designed to send a message regarding the council's lack of pleasure with the board's stewardship of essential city resources.
The resolution approved Monday, as read into the record by council president William Clark, stated, "The (board) was created and authorized by the governing body of the city of Talladega in 1965, pursuant to chapter 50 of Title 11 of the Code of Alabama of 1975, section 11-50-310; The sole purpose of creating the board as a separately incorporated entity was for reasons of economics. It is and has always been the intent of the governing body of the city of Talladega that the board is responsible for furnishing water and sewer services to the citizens of Talladega in a timely, economic, healthy and safe manner.
“The governing body of the city of Talladega, its officials, and many individual entities, in conjunction and coordination with state officials, feel the city is on the threshold of a new era and are currently striving to work together to promote Talladega for industry and commercial growth and to encourage people to move here," the resolution continued. "On many occasions in the last several months, the actions and/or inactions of the board have caused much unfavorable publicity for the city of Talladega and its citizens, and the perceived inability of the board to correct their many problems have compounded this unfavorable, unwanted publicity for the city, as well as caused increased financial liability for the city and its citizens due to resulting litigation.
“The governing body of the city of Talladega has made appointments to the board in good faith that said appointees would conduct themselves as board members in the best interests of the citizens, and it is evident to the governing body that the board has not (done so), and further that their actions and/or inactions and resulting publicity have been, and continue to be, counterproductive to the many coordinated efforts to build up and promote Talladega.
“Now, therefore be it resolved by the city council of the city of Talladega, that the council is calling for a vote of no confidence in the Talladega Water and Sewer Board, and ... further ... that the city council is calling for the immediate resignation of all members of the Talladega Water and Sewer Board who were appointed prior to the year 2004."
The members appointed prior to this year are board chairman Wayne Kearley and board members David McGhee and Lawrence McGraw. The other two board members are Dan Waites and Charles Pope, who is also the councilman for Ward 4.
Councilman James Armstrong made the motion to approve the resolution and call for the no confidence vote; Pope seconded the motion.
The council was also supported in the resolution by at least 27 employees of the board, represented by assistant manager for operations James Brasher. Prior to the actual meeting, Brasher presented the councilman with a petition signed by approximately two-thirds of the board's current employees, echoing much of the language used in the resolution.
"It is our understanding that the overall management of the city of Talladega's water and sewer system is the responsibility of the board," the petition read. "This responsibility was assigned to the board by the city, (which) appoints board members, to ensure the smooth operation of the system. The board has a broad charge, seeking to identify all the challenges facing water resources, protection of the environment, provid(ing) good, safe working conditions for employees and provid(ing) sufficient funds to operate and maintain treatment facilities and infrastructures.
“Over the last several years," the petition continued, "we as employees have seen the overall condition of the Board assets deteriorate at an alarming rate. While we have made valiant efforts to handle these situations, we feel that we have absolutely no support from our general manager and all board members appointed before 2004. We have been asked to do things that range from just being plain wrong to unethical to outright illegal. Without the help of Waites and Pope, this situation would be completely unbearable for us.
“As employees, we want to do the right thing. We are citizens of Talladega, and customers, too. We drink the water we help produce and we have to answer to our neighbors when they see article after article in the paper about how poorly things are being run. When someone steps up and challenges the status quo, that person is labeled 'insolent' or 'insubordinate.' This really means that the push is on to fire that person so that the board's and the general manager's inadequacies can remain hidden from the public," the petition continued, as read into the record by Brasher. "We believe that it is time for a change at the top.
“We, as employees, do hereby request the resignation of all members of the board appointed before 2004, and the board manager, effective immediately," the petition concluded.
The first signature was Brasher's, who is second only to board manager Bill Goheen in the hierarchy of board employees. Board secretary Cathy Fuller was recently elevated to assistant manager status, on a par with Brasher, but did not sign the petition.
In casting his dissenting vote, Patterson said he "wondered about the appropriateness of Pope seconding a motion to cast off his fellow board members. Only Pope and Waites would be left if the other three step down. Even so, this body has no legal authority to remove any board members.
“Furthermore," Patterson continued, "I want it said that I know McGhee and McGraw. Both are retired professionals, and both are good, honorable, intelligent men. What they do might not be popular, but my confidence in them is unshaken. I hope sincerely that they do not resign. We're overstepping our bounds here. Things happen from time to time with any board that I don't necessarily agree with. But when we had really criminal acts (in 1998 and 1999), there was no petition, there was no call for resignations."
Patterson added he was also "interested in when this employee petition was circulated, if it was done on company time."
Following the vote, which Clark put over the top, Patterson asked, "What is the purpose in our doing this?"
"The situation with the water board didn't happen overnight," Clark answered. "It didn't happen yesterday. Since at least 1997, new allegations of wrongdoing have surfaced at least weekly. We are responsible as citizens and elected officials for making them accountable. Their actions have made the city of Talladega the laughingstock of east Alabama. It seems to me, providing water service should be a fairly simple job, but they have demonstrated time and again that they just can't get it right. For anything to get done, credibility is needed. The board does not have the credibility it needs to get their jobs done. Now is the time for the council to step forward."
Patterson said he "urged the council to avoid emotionally charged language, words like 'illegal' and 'fraudulent.' These are people with good names in the community, and with families."
Clark agreed, and pointed out that the council resolution contained no such language or accusations.
"We should refrain from stating anything that we do not know to be fact," Clark said. "We and all of the appointed boards of this city need to work together to better our community, and move us forward. I have no intention of hurting anyone's good name, but we are competing with cities like Oxford and Lincoln, even though they are our sister cities. Every agency must work together in providing the best services and quality of life if we are to compete and grow. If there is a problem, it needs to be addressed and we need to move on."
Councilman Eddie Tucker was not present at the meeting Monday, but read a prepared statement Monday evening.
"McGhee, McGraw and Kearley have served on this board with pride, honor and distinction," Tucker said. "All three have given meritorious service, and their records are impeccable. The deportment and character are immaculate. They will not be removed, as the city has no authority to remove them. The current members are not a problem. They did not hide the Grant Street well contamination.
“I didn't agree with them on keeping their records closed, but they were following the advice of their attorneys. I respect their right to do what they think is best. All of the voting done in my absence was a farce, and grandstanding.
"There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by any present board members," Tucker added. "I would still have opposed the motion, but I would have had more respect if it had called for all five to step down. The problem is not with the board. It is the management, the people at the top, and the day to day operators who let the people down."
Mayor Brian York, who serves as the city's liaison to the board, said he "agreed with the resolution. It's time for a change. I'm not saying any specific board members have done anything wrong, I know they are all well known in the community. I know some of them personally, and they are good people. But to keep Talladega moving in the right direction, we need to make some changes."
McGraw said he was not aware of the council's actions Monday, and declined to comment. Kearley and McGhee were unavailable Monday night.
The water board has been a source of controversy since four past members pleaded guilty to various felony charges stemming from actions taken in 1997 and 1998. The board's more recent troubles began in the summer of 2002, when three employees were terminated following the theft of more than $90,000 from board coffers. One board employee subsequently pleaded guilty to felony theft charges as a result.
While The Daily Home was investigating those charges, the new board and former board manager George Montgomery refused to turn over financial and personnel information, arguing that they were not subject to the state Open Records Act.
The Daily Home sued the board, which was determined to be subject to the act first in Talladega County Circuit Court and later by the state Supreme Court. The board is currently petitioning the high court to revisit that decision.
While the records issue was pending before the state Supreme Court, The Daily Home uncovered evidence that the Grant Street well, which had been ordered closed in 1995 by state and federal authorities for exceeding the maximum contamination level for a carcinogenic compound used in metal degreasing and dry cleaning, had been used intermittently as a water source since 1998. The well was in regular use throughout 2002 and the first part of 2003, well after McGraw, Kearley and McGhee were appointed.
That disclosure led to the filing of a class action civil suit by Talladega water customers against the board, the city, and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Presumably, this also led to a federal criminal investigation which brought investigators with the FBI and criminal investigative division of the Environmental Protection Agency to Talladega to seize various records. A federal grand jury was impaneled in this matter last month.
Among other things, the grand jury is investigating willful violations of the Clean Water Act and mail fraud stemming from falsified records.
Preliminary work on the construction of an aeration tower to remove these and other chemical contaminants got under way last week. During Monday's meeting, the council voted unanimously to expand the board's easement around the well to facilitate the new construction.
The most recent controversy deals with chronic unaccounted water loss, which on several occasions has exceed 45 percent of the water produced each month. Since October 2000, the board has "lost" 1.25 billion gallons of water, which is more than the daily water consumption for one year for New York City and its 9 million residents.
When Brasher and other board employees disputed a study conducted by Montgomery's successor, Bill Goheen, Kearley convened a special board meeting to chastise the employees involved, Waites and Pope.
Also Monday night, the council:
o Voted unanimously to abolish the Oak Hill Cemetery Board.
o Voted unanimously to double the tax on tobacco products, from 5 cents to 10 cents.
o Agreed to end compensatory time for department heads, but will allow current department heads to use or cash in previously accrued comp time at retirement.
o Heard city manager Thomas Christie introduce temporary finance director Nanette Estes, who went to work for the city last week.
o Discussed a preliminary outline for a citywide flood mitigation program designed by Roberts and Associates. Implementation will cost an estimated $117,000 and take three to six months. No action was taken.
o Heard a request for additional funding from Earl Warren of the Boys and Girls Clubs. The city is currently short on funds, but will take the request under advisement. Similar funding requests were also taken under consideration by the Kiwanis Club and Easter Seals.
o Announced that the library board will hold a reception today at 5:30 p.m.
o Agreed to set a public meeting with city employees to discuss budgeting and finance issues.
o Excused Tucker.
o Approved an off premises retail beer license for Shop N Fill No. 12.
o Appointed Marshall Griffin to the city planning commission.
o Accepted the resignation of Kenneth Heath from the zoning board of appeals.
