By Dan Dickinson
Candidate
Town of Waterford Sanitary District No. 1
Following is my rebuttal to points raised in Bill Gerard’s opinion piece in last week’s Waterford Post
• WSD rate increases: see graph to right. 
• Dickinson “recall”: No evidence of any bonafide recall exists. Before I was elected, town sewers were defeated in a public referendum. After my election, a second referendum passed. I resigned from WSD in 1985 due to a death in the family and to attend to the family businesses.
• The replacement fund: According to the 2012 WSD budget, $73,000 was transferred out of the Replacement “reserve” Fund; no money is budgeted to replenish it.
In 2011, $54,400 was also transferred out and another $54,100 in 2010, totaling $181,500 in three years.
WSD’s 7/20/12 mid-year report shows a $34,894.50 operating deficit.
• Frivolous lawsuit: According to WSD’s 5/30/12 meeting minutes, WSD conducted a closed meeting “with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved specifically with regards to the (town hall) lease.”
On 7/27/12 WSD lawyers served the Town with a three-page open records request going back 10 years regarding the lease.
• “Cadillac” employee benefits: The 12/8/10 WSD meeting minutes show Gerard voted to approve “at will” pay and benefits for a relative of an existing WSD employee. The 5/11/12 WSD meeting minutes show Gerard voted to OK paying annual retirement benefits of $22,000 to another employee.
• Nepotism: Friends and relatives of WSD employees who have received paychecks from WSD over the past three years (some may be minors), crisscross six or seven combinations of WSD employees. Jobs are not publicly posted.
• Outsourcing operations: The average WSD employee loaded compensation is $52/hour; they should not be cutting grass, shoveling snow, licking stamps, etc. All sensible internal and external operational efficiencies should be considered.
• Employee spending limits: Until recently changed, the Treasurer was given blank checks to sign and administration would fill in the blank spaces later. WSD has no purchase order system, no preapproval of spending and no written caps or limits on spending.
• Creating the budget: During the 6/13/12 WSD board meeting, it was explained how employees create the budget, with insufficient details given to the board to effectively control spending at budget approval time.
Former WSD commissioner Dan Dickinson is seeking to recall WSD Board President Bill Gerard in an Aug. 14 recall election. Dickinson can be contacted by emailing him at [email protected].
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