Editor’s Note: This is an opinion column.
By Paul DeMarco
Just as certain is the view of Vulcan atop Red Mountain, the chronic issues with the Birmingham Water Works Board have been a constant in our community.
Through the years, there have been criminal investigations of board members and contractors for ethics violations. Last year, there were two contractors for the Board who pleaded guilty to state felony ethics charges.
In 2019, a Board member was convicted by a Jefferson County jury for using her board position for personal gain and violating the state ethics law.
There have also been civil litigation on behalf of ratepayers for the billing practices of the Board.
There have been efforts to put the Board under the purview of the Public Service Commission to no avail.
Now there are new revelations of allegations that employees of the Board have been accused of improper purchasing and alleged kickbacks.
According to WBRC Fox 6 Johnathan Hardison, unfortunately once the allegations of wrongdoing were discovered, the Board did not conduct a transparent investigation on behalf of the ratepayers. The Board has yet to reveal the true details of what has transpired to the public.
At some point, the ongoing problems with the Board must get resolved.
Lawmakers, including Senator Jabo Waggoner, Representative Jim Carns, and myself, worked to reform the Board in 2014 and 2015. The Board spent thousands of dollars on lobbyists to kill efforts to change the makeup of the Board and the way they did business.
Unfortunately, the problems with the Board continue and now call for new efforts to overhaul the leadership and representation on the Board.
Because the Board is such an integral part of the region that provides water to over 500,000 ratepayers in five different counties, the decades of problems have finally got to be fixed. Over the years, the corruption and wrongdoing at the Board has been a stain on the Birmingham region that should garner bipartisan support for change.
First and foremost, there should be a full forensic investigation of the finances of the Board by both state and federal investigators. Secondly, the Alabama Legislature should revisit the statute regarding the operation of the Board and pass new legislation to reform how they operate.
Ratepayers finally deserve transparency of what is happening at the Birmingham Water Works Board and a Board they can have the confidence to fairly distribute their water.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on Twitter at @Paul_DeMarco.