Wednesday, April 13, 2011

G & E - Again!

If problems are not addressed they exacerbate themselves such as personal health, repairing your house or examining the performance and management of a municipal utility.

The G&E meeting of Tuesday started out with a procedure I have never seen - a sign in sheet. My first reaction was I must now keep a jaundice eye on my bill - being the trusting soul that I am.

Mr. Granahan immediately issued his apology with several "I was wrong comments" but that is just not going to cut it as far as a detailed examination of the operation is concerned. That will take place. This just is not a "Let's move on situation" but a "Let's take a real close look situation."

Their budget has to be examined. Procurement procedures examined. Take a long look at job descriptions, qualifications, salaries, benefits, pensions, employee evaluation procedures, management perks, commissioner perks, and just about anything else that needs public scrutiny. Then they need to do some serious comps to see if Middleboro is the municipal exception or the municipal standard for both rates and employment issues.

What this comes down to is rates. Are we paying more than we should thanks to mismanagement or excessive expenses? Former Selectman Lincoln Andrews questioned why he pays less in Bridgewater per kilowatt than Middleboro charges. Former Selectman Adam Bond questioned the redundancy issue on legal representation especially paying for someone with limited experience in open meeting law and public records. Both questioned the competency of Mr. Granahan especially with his rather generous compensation package. A rate payer and Selectman Allin Frawley questioned the sick leave policy as reported in The Enterprise. I found it rather strange that management addresses bad behavior - excessive questionable sick leave - by a reward system. So now employees who are sick come to work and make others sick or risk safety since their performance may not be 100%? These are all important issues that directly relate back to operations, management and rate payer costs.

Why did it take the aggressiveness of a new commissioner to get this rolling? Why did the other commissioners display such a reluctant attitude in having Mr. Granahan do what was both right and legal? Is this stagnation that comes with a complacent attitude?

The G & E needs a financial and procedural audit.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Red Sox have gone two days without a loss. you've got to think positive after that downer by the Bruins.

bogofree said...
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bogofree said...

2-0 loss.....against a team that has traditionally owned them.

Celts look in a world of trouble. Ainge took a huge risk moving half his team and it looks like it may have backfired.

This is turning into a bleak spring for Boston fans.

G&E is even looking better than local sports teams.

Suo Mynona said...

The G&E board needs to take more binding votes. From the one meeting I saw there appeared to be a lack of participation by members. Most striking was the no comments from board members ( other than Triner and Solimini) about the releasing of documents. I had sincerely hoped the board would have voted to release documents and even perhaps voted a reprimand for Granhan. This is not based on any animosity towards Granhan, just protocol. The members should carefully read Jane Lopes' editorial. The historical perspective was telling. My interpretation was she was warning them not to repeat history.

anonymous said...

Jane Lopes provided an excellent historical timeline regarding past excesses of the G&E management structure. Many are relatively new to Middleboro so it could provide significant background information.

My first time listening to the Commissioners was the televised repeat on Tuesday and I was not impressed by the Chair.I can now understand why Mr. Solimini obviously had become so frustrated since this appears to be another Marsha situation. Just my opinion.

bogofree said...
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bogofree said...

Alice Elwell as well has done a terrific job covering this story for the last week with interviews, research of other municipals and making the G&E public enough to bring the sharp focus of public attention. Even the Enterprise had an editorial in their Sunday edition.