Don’t toy with BWL

The BWL’s real value, however, depends on the utility having the trust of its ratepayers, something that was badly damaged during last year’s ice storm and, in many ways, has yet to be fully restored.

The work of the Community Review Team set a path for the city’s leaders and BWL management to begin earning that trust back. The team’s recommendations, particularly those calling for greater regional representation on the commission, were widely agreed upon and until recently appeared to be firmly on track.

Unfortunately, Mayor Bernero has suddenly decided to change course, in large part throwing out the recommendations of the CRT and moving to take tighter control of the BWL’s decision-making process himself.

To put it simply, his actions are misguided and threaten every bit of progress that has been made to improve the accountability of the BWL management since the events of last year.

The mayor justifies his actions with claims that the BWL is “out of control,” as evidenced by the past three general managers being forced out. Of course, the mayor is omitting the fact that he himself called for two of those firings, including that recently of Peter Lark only a year after signing a lucrative long-term contract that the mayor was fully aware would guarantee his payout even if he were to be fired.

The mayor has also argued the commission itself is unprepared to make decisions, another curious statement considering he is the one who appoints the commissioners. While I disagree with the mayor’s sudden distrust of the commission’s leadership, if he believes it himself, then he has only himself to blame.

In fact, when you look at the bulk of the mayor’s proposals, if there is a need for greater accountability in the handling of the BWL, it’s in that of the mayor himself.

It was Mayor Bernero who backed Peter Lark’s leadership throughout the botched response to the ice storm. It was Mayor Bernero who appointed the commission that offered Lark his contract that has put ratepayers on the hook to the tune of $900,000. And it was Mayor Bernero who reversed course and suddenly called for the commission to fire Lark in spite of the legitimate improvements that have been made internally at the BWL in recent months.

Where is the accountability for those actions, mayor?

In truth, I believe Mayor Bernero when he says he wants to make the BWL better. With the BWL now paying more than $20 million to the city in lieu of taxes — and I challenge the mayor to find any other company in Lansing that pays that much in taxes — it’s more important than ever for that accountability to exist from everyone involved, including the mayor himself.

The City Charter specifically guarantees the independence of the BWL and its commission because keeping it free and clear of the politics of City Hall is vital to its longterm success. It allows the utility to recruit top-notch talent to operate it in a manner that serves its customers best, and it gives ratepayers and leaders from each and every one of the communities it serves the trust that the decisions being made are being made for the right reasons, not for political reasons.

But it clearly is not in the BWL’s best interests, or the interests of its ratepayers, to go along with his plan to give greater authority to the Mayor’s Office in making decisions that impact ratepayers throughout the region.

Unfortunately, the mayor has made it clear that he is moving forward with this proposal regardless of criticism. As he does, many of the area’s leaders are raising serious questions and concerns about it, none of which have been answered by the mayor other than with dismissive comments and blaming others.

We all deserve better than that and must demand, at a minimum, that the mayor properly outline the specifics of what he is proposing to do and be prepared to answer the questions that will come from that. Only then should the City Council even consider putting a proposal of this magnitude before voters.

The BWL is an asset to our region that should not be toyed with. It can, and will, earn the trust back of our communities, but only if it is allowed to be an independent body that is free to make decisions in the best interests of its ratepayers, not the interests of politicians like Mayor Bernero.