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Anonymous emailer criticizes BWL rate increases

August 14, 2024

 

New email received today, August 15, from bwlsucks@proton.me:

 

 

Hi Steven,

I’m disappointed to see that the email I sent you was posted in its entirety on your website. A good journalist knows not to reveal their sources, especially when they prefer to remain anonymous. While I understand the value of transparency, I believe that a summary with a few quotes would have been more appropriate.

I’m requesting that you take down the full email as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to this breach of trust, I won’t be able to communicate with you further.

 

I've reproduced below an email I received last night [August 13]. It was from bwlsucks@proton.me and addressed to stevenrharry@gmail.com, city.clerk@lansingmi.com and mi.517.cafe@gmail.com, which is the email for Michigan Capital Area Friends of the Environment. I have no idea who bwlsucks@proton.me is, but they are pretty familiar with this website. If you would like to see the original email, let me know and I will forward it to you.

 

Good evening,

I am reaching out to bring you together and provide insight into some alarming issues that the BWL customers/ratepayers should be outraged about, especially given the proposed rate increases the company is attempting to push through. BWL is, quite frankly, one of the most mismanaged and fiscally irresponsible companies I have ever encountered and it is time that they are exposed to all for stealing from the ratepayers. I hope the information I am about to share will be useful in your efforts to challenge these rate increases.

If you haven't already, I recommend checking out Steve Harry's website. He has written several articles detailing BWL's wasteful spending, particularly concerning employee turnover and the exorbitant severance packages paid out, often without clear justification. These payouts are likely a means to silence employees who may possess insider information that could expose BWL to public scrutiny. Steve Harry has also obtained employee wage information for the past several years, which further illustrates the financial mismanagement at play, many of these employees are very overpaid! 

Lansing Board of Water and Light (https://www.steveharrypublicpolicy.com/CategoryList.html#Lansing_Board_of_Water_and_Light_)
 
4/5/2024 Board of Water and Light: 2023 employee wages

2/4/2023

Board of Water and Light: 2022 employee wages

10/3/2022

BWL employee wages for 2021

10/21/2020

BWL employees continue to get paid to leave

8/24/2020

BWL union members get $500 to extend contract

8/14/2020

2019 BWL employee wages...and some questions

7/31/2020

Beware of the Board of Water and Light

7/24/2020

FOIA does not require a public body to answer questions

1/22/2015

Problems with J. Peter Lark seen as early as 2009

5/14/2014 Lark is being paid too much for shoddy management
?/?/2009 2008 Wages for BWL Employees
Since 2015, BWL has experienced a significant amount of employee turnover, with many of the departed employees receiving large unnecessary severance packages as they were employees who chose to resign. These payouts seem more about preventing potential whistleblowers from going public than about fairness or necessity. Additionally, there was a recent case of embezzlement involving the company’s internal auditor, which you can read about here: https://www.wlns.com/news/no-charges-for-bwl-auditor-customers-left-worried/. This incident underscores the ongoing lack of proper checks and balances within the company and further proves that BWL doesn’t learn from its mistakes. I suspect this is not an isolated incident and that there are other employees similarly misusing company resources, such as credit cards, without facing any consequences.
The most significant turnover has been in the Customer Operations, IT, Finance, and Human Resources departments. These departments are plagued by poor leadership, driving good employees to leave, which ultimately places the burden of these losses on the ratepayers. BWL was once a company that could take pride in representing the residents of Lansing, but nowadays it seems more focused on nepotism, with executives and managers ensuring that their friends and family members are hired. For example, General Manager Dick Peffley has multiple relatives working at BWL, as do at least two other executives, Heather Shawa and Stephen Serkaian.

BWL has also spent significant funds on assessing employee satisfaction by hiring Gallup to gather employee engagement information over the last 3-4 years. I highly suggest submitting a FOIA request to obtain the results of these Gallup surveys, as they will provide insight into departmental issues and offer more proof that BWL is not addressing the internal problems and low morale that contribute to the need for rate increases. Depending on which manager you work for, you might get paid very well for minimal effort or work your tail off and receive no recognition at all. No two departments are managing their employees the same, despite efforts and significant money spent on training managers. The poor management decisions and operations start at the top, and BWL does not hold directors, managers, or supervisors accountable for their bad decisions. This lack of accountability trickles down into every aspect of the business operations, including rate increases. Another concerning issue is the continued practice of allowing employees and contractors to work from home, including some who are out of state. I've heard that the management of these remote employees is subpar and that many are not working the hours for which they are being paid. Yet, because their managers permit it, these employees continue to take advantage of the system and this lack of accountability is affecting all aspects of business operations. 

In addition, there have been several large technology system upgrades, including a new Customer Information System, smart meters, and Geographic Information System upgrades. Ratepayers deserve to understand how these upgrades have benefited them. If these projects were managed properly and achieved their intended goals, there should be no need for rate increases. This is yet another area where the company has failed to demonstrate accountability and effective management.

If you’re interested in further investigating, I suggest submitting additional FOIA requests for departed employees who likely received a severance package: Tracy Strudwick, Robert Perialas, Rod Davenport, Lynette Keller, and Kellie Elford (just to name a few). Steve Harry has had success with FOIA requests and getting detailed information and he may be able to assist with this.

As a municipality, the BWL is owned by the ratepayers and they need to be held accountable for the wasteful spending and poor business operations. Ratepayers should not have to bear the financial burden for the company's poor leadership and fiscal irresponsibility. These issues have been previously brought to the attention of the BWL Board of Commissioners, but unfortunately no action was taken. They seem to take leadership at their word instead of digging in and investigating the root cause of the issues, even turning a blind eye when it was reported that there was sexual misconduct by Executive HR Director, Michael Flowers back in 2020 which was swept under the rug and never dealt with.

Good luck to you, I hope there is something of value here to help you take action and stop this rate increase from happening.

 

 

Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text me at 517-730-2638. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.

 

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