Bath trustees delay Utility Commission action
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

PHOTO BY ROB PRICE Nearly 200 people crowded the Bath fire department's fire station last week for a public hearing on whether the Public Utility Commission should be disbanded by the Bath village board.

BATH - The village board last week stepped back from its resolution to abolish the 76-year-old Public Utility Commission, which oversees the daily operations of Bath Electric Gas and Water Systems.

A 45-minute public hearing attended by nearly 200 village residents revealed strong local support for the Commission, and village trustees at its conclusion voted unanimously to table a resolution formalizing the Commission's dissolution.

Former Mayor Larry Bates summarized opposition to dissolving the Commission, noting village board and Commission members have frequently clashed in the past. "There's absolutely nothing new ... about village trustees and Commission members being at loggerheads over something," Bates said. In dissolving the Commission, he warned the board, "You're getting ready to throw out the baby with the bath water."

The Commission, however, was not without its critics. Village resident Beverly Petix questioned the propriety of the Commission hiring the wife of Utilities Director Matthew Benesh to conduct an evaluation of the utility's computer systems.

Benesh's wife, Marie Benesh, confirmed she had been retained by the Commission from 2003 to 2004 to streamline the utility company's computerized fiscal reporting procedures, adding she charged the Commission her minimum fee of $125 per hour.

According to Commission Chairperson Barbara Scudder, the Commission paid Benesh a total of $50,000. Scudder also has confirmed Benesh was a co-buyer of a business owned by Scudder, but at Monday's hearing she maintained the sale of her business "has no place in the discussion."

Few of the speakers at the hearing, however, pressed the issue of Benesh's hiring. The majority instead defended the Commission as a non-political overseer of the village's public utility system.

"Do you village trustees have the time to do justice to the utilities?" asked village resident Beth Clark. "I think not."

Village resident Patricia Eaton called the village board's resolution - which trustees had backed at a meeting two weeks ago, "a sneak attack." According to Eaton, "The resolution should be thrown out the window."

It took board members fewer than five minutes to agree to table the resolution. "We don't have the experience or fortitude to take it (BEGWS operations) on," said Trustee Donna Simonson.

"I'd like to think on this and not make any decision," added Trustee Jeanne Glass.

Trustee Mike Skelly, who has argued in the past for closer oversight of BEGWS operations, maintained he has "concerns over decisions made within the Commission." But Skelly also told the crowd, "I believe in the Commission."

Skelly last year disagreed with efforts by BEGWS to finance a $9 million upgrade to upgrade the utility's electric infrastructure. In light of that clash, he has told The Courier, "We need to take a much more active role with the utility in light of the proposed upgrades."

BEGWS continues to investigate the possibility of alternatives to the $9 million upgrade.

Mayor David Wallace noted the issue of the Commission's future remains unresolved. Board members will reconsider the matter when they meet for their regular meeting next month.