Anonymous emailer criticizes BWL rate
increases
August
14, 2024
New
email received today, August 15, from bwlsucks@proton.me:
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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. |
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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.
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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!
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.
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Send comments, questions, and tips to
stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text me at 517-730-2638. If
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