Gerard safe guarding records he fears might be destroyed
By Tracy Ouellette
Staff Writer
Town of Waterford Sanitary District President Bill Gerard said Aug. 1 he recently sent more than 30 pages of official WSD meeting notes and financial data, dating as far back as 2003, to the “county” for safe keeping in case newcomers to the board start destroying records.
Gerard’s statement came after a Waterford Post reporter showed up Aug. 1 to attend a special Sanitary District meeting that had been incorrectly posted and held a day earlier.
She then requested that Gerard explain what happened at that meeting.
In reply, Gerard produced a packet of documents he said shows the Sanitary District has been hemorrhaging money since 2003. The paperwork also shows how often the problem has been brought before WSD commissioners, without any real action taken to correct the problem.
Gerard said these problems started way before he became a board member. When he took over as treasurer in 2010, he found out how extensive the loss is and was appalled, he said.
Gerard said the meeting held July 31 had been called specifically “to inform Donna Block what she had not seen going through the annual reports.”
He said the information in the packet is what was presented and discussed at the July 31 meeting. Later that day, Block resigned from the WSD board, citing health issues.
Gerard further explained that he never talked to Block about what he knew about the Sanitary District finances because if the two of them were to speak, it constituted an illegal quorum in violation of state law.
He said Block appeared stunned July 31 to learn how bad the situation is.
When Block asked why he never told her this before, Gerard said he explained that he had been “afraid to talk to her because she was close with Bob (Town Chairman Langmesser) and the newspaper.”
But Gerard said he felt Block needed to see the information to know what’s been going on for the past nine years.
When asked about Gerard’s comments, Block responded in an email that she didn’t recall Gerard telling her he didn’t trust her or was afraid to talk to her.
“If Mr. Gerard did not trust me, this is information you will have to rely on him for. As far as him being ‘afraid to talk to me,’ I was under the impression that it was because any two members of the commission meeting or talking constitutes a quorum and would be an illegal meeting.”
Block said she doesn’t believe any information was withheld from her and said what was presented to her at the July 31 meeting hadn’t prevented her from doing her job.
“I think what it pointed out was that the district user fees have not been keeping pace with expenses and that this situation has been taking place well before Mr. Gerard took office. I thought this information was the reason for the meeting,” she said.
The July 31 meeting was Block’s last official outing as a Sanitary District commissioner. According to Gerard, she handed him her resignation immediately after the meeting ended.
“She’s been a really good treasurer,” Gerard said. “We’re really going to miss her.”
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