Guest Columnist
'I have lost confidence in the judgement of the commisson.'
By David Wallace

In early April, 2008 the Bath Village Board unanimously voted to abolish the Village of Bath Municipal Utility Commission. That vote required a public hearing, which has also been held, and a second vote which will be taken on May 19, 2008. I want to explain why the first resolution was made and why I believe the final resolution should also be accepted. Simply put, I have lost confidence in the judgment of the commission and in their ability to make appropriate business decisions. The Village Board has no plans to change the operation of Bath Electric Gas and Water Systems and will not take or sell any of its assets. Indeed, the main reason behind this decision is to preserve and protect the company as it currently exists.

My concerns were first aroused last summer when the commission was planning to have Mr. Benesh placed on the board of directors of Corning Natural Gas. Since Bath Electric Gas and Water Systems is one of Corning Natural Gas's largest customers it was obvious to me that Mr. Benesh would have been asked as a member of the board of directors to act in the best interest of Corning Natural Gas including the establishment of rates at the same time he was working for the Village of Bath as our utility director. A clear conflict of interest was presented. I objected to both Mr. Benesh and the chairman of the utility commission but they persisted in their efforts. I later discovered that their attorney had given them the same advice before my involvement. Only after a second legal opinion was requested by the commission was this plan abandoned. My confidence in the judgment of the commission was then shaken.

The commission has been working on an upgrade of the electric department for several years. Two engineering firms have been retained to provide plans for this project and both reports were very similar. Last summer the commission came to the Village Board and asked for and received permission to borrow five million ($5,000,000.00) dollars to pursue the project. In November of 2007 the commission said they needed nine million ($9,000,000.00) dollars for the same project. Questions from the Village Board about the repayment of this amount were not adequately answered and permission to borrow the additional amount was not granted.

An explanation: Only the trustees of the Village of Bath have the authority to borrow money. The commission cannot borrow. The trustees borrow the money and are responsible to pay it back. We do this often and the money to repay the loan is provided by the utility company. In this instance we wanted to know how the money would be acquired by the company to repay this loan. We were not satisfied with the answers. In the event that the utility was unable to provide the sums necessary to repay this loan, it would be the Village's responsibility to repay out of taxpayers' funds.

The plan to repay this loan of course was to apply for rate increases which must be approved by the Public Service Commission. The commission recently requested a rate increase in the amount of 4.2 percent for the rate year commencing October 1, 2007. The increased approved by the Department of Public Service was in the amount of 1.7 percent to become effective May 1, 2008. This increase had nothing to do with the proposed upgrade but serves as an illustration that requested increases and rates are not automatically provided.

There is no question that the electric system needs upgrades and improvements. The commission feels that all of these improvements need to be made in one project and the trustees believe it can be done over a period of years with less immediate cost. Other departments within the utility company also need upgrade and repairs and the Village Board is not prepared to borrow nine million ($9,000,000.00) dollars for the electric department without complete financial planning.

Last fall we were told by the commission that the water system would require a several million dollar upgrade as well. This need still exists and intensifies with time but no further information or plans have been provided. The various improvements to departments within Bath Electric Gas and Water Systems need to be addressed on a regular basis.

While I have long heard complaints about the labor relations within the company, I initially considered it the normal friction between labor and management in difficult times. I now believe that planning, development and improvement to the company have been hindered by the long standing and intense conflict between labor and management. As an attorney, I have and continue to represent management in labor issues, I am not naive about these conflicts ( I represented the municipal utility commission for 23 years before I was elected Mayor). I am concerned that the work environment at Bath Electric Gas and Water may have become unproductively hostile. I feel that the expenditure of over one hundred thousand ($100,000.00) dollars for attorneys fees on just this issue is unnecessary. Even now the commission and management continue to demean, belittle and intimidate employees. It is not a single event or practice but rather an attitude that I find unacceptable.

Conflicts between labor and management are not unusual, however these conflicts must be resolved in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. My confidence in the judgment of the commission to effectively and professionally deal with labormanagement issues has been lost.

Part of the need for outside consultants has been created by the lack of communication between management and its employees and a refusal to cooperate in an effort to solve problems. Consultants and lawyers are a necessary part of doing business and serve an important function in the operation of this company, but the commission too quickly looks for outside help when it has available information within its own ranks. Approximately two hundred ($200,000.00) has been spent on consultants in the past few years. I believe this amount to be excessive. My goal here is not to list every reason that I support the resolution to abolish the commission but rather to give you the reader an explanation of the problems I see with the company. This is not about personalities; it is a business decision which I believe we are compelled to make in order to save and improve our local utility company.

The writer serves as mayor of the Village of Bath.