Dirty politics in Bath

To the editor:

After the last paragraph of last week's article "Rocky Relations," I cannot sit idly by without a final comment. For those who have asked, life is just find post utility commission. I survived the untruths, half facts and assault on my integrity. As a commissioner, I learned much, served willingly and was honored to be the first woman appointed to such a position.

Let me start by saying that if the Mayor had spoken to me about only a quarter of things I've been told we talked about, we most likely would not have found ourselves in this place. Communication between village hall and the Commission was miserable at best. There were lots of minutes and reports, but efforts to talk of his concerns literally did not happen, despite what you may have been lead to believe.

The repeatedly printed reasons given for the loss of confidence in the Commission have been completely blown out of the water. The tendering of Mr. Benesh's name for a board seat at Corning Natural Gas was considered at the request of the Public Service commission. This is documented from the public meetings held prior to the potential sale of that company. Legal opinion was obtained, the advice was taken and the name was withdrawn, It is ancient history.

The labor relations difficulties were manufactured to achieve an end.The union was in negotiations with the Commission for a new contract. Progress would have been made if proposals had not been printed prematurely as agreements. The Commission did file a Public Employees RElations Board charge citing the union for negotiating in "bad faith." Evidence in that document included e-mail communication from an employee, on a company computer, to both the Mayor and the former Director, making allegations against the Commission to create a case for dissolution of the Commission. Once this well-orchestrated action was accomplished by the village board on May 19, the Mayor settled the contract post-haste, and the PERB charge was dismissed as reported by the Mayor. He also reported that the existing contract for the utility employees was extended for another year without change. That gave the employees a 3 percent increase in wages and continued full paid health insurance coverage at a 21.9 percent increase - the equivalent of a 25 percent benefit increase if you do the math.

The most recent news article cited the inability of the commission to provide a financial plan for the proposed electric upgrade. A paid consultant provided that plan, in writing, to the entire Board at a joint November 2007 meeting in the presence of the bonding agency representative from Bernard Donegan and Associates. The Commission did not have the authority to obtain funding, and it is the responsibility of the village board to come up with the financial plan. The work was done for them, so where is the validity of the Mayor's statement?

I repeat my warning from before: Village residents, beware. I submit that the reasons for dissolving the municipal utility commission were purely politically motivated and without merit. If the judgement of the Commission can be questioned, why is it that nothing has changed, except the faces at the table?
Barbara Scudder
Bath