Recall petitions have been filed against four members of the Basin Water and Sewer District Board.
Those named in the petitions include MJ Williams, Joy Lewis, Mike Jellison and David Englund.
The petitions were filed with the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder’s office and the board members were notified, according to Clerk and Recorder Bonnie Ramey.
The recall attempt is the latest development to arise from the ongoing controversy over the Board’s efforts to address infrastructure issues with the community’s water system, and which have included water rate changes.
In providing a reason for the recall, the petitions for Williams and Lewis allege a situation in 2017 where the Board hired an accountant to look over and reconcile the water department’s books, and where the accountant indicated that some money may have been taken or embezzled.
The petition states that the accountant asked the directors if the matter should be investigated further and Lewis, Williams and the other directors at the time chose not to do so.
The petition states that Williams and Lewis instead closed the original accounts and opened new ones.
The petitions for Williams, Lewis, Jellison and Englund also describe a situation on Jan. 12 where the Board voted to adjust water rates. The petitions for Jellison and Englund go into more detail on the rate change, stating that the directors failed to provide proper notice to the community of the change before the vote.
All four are accused of violating their oath of office, incompetence and official misconduct.
Each of the petitions had the required 30 or more signatures to enact the recall process, said Ramey.
Ramey said the Board members can resign, and if they so choose, the process will end there.
“If they wish to go forth, the next step in the process is to call for a special election to be held,” said Ramey.
The Board members have the right to prepare and have printed on the ballot a statement giving the reasons why they should not be recalled. This must be received within 10 days of the date the notice was given, said Ramey.
Williams said she was served with her notice on April 9 by a Jefferson County deputy.
Williams, along with the other Board members, declined to comment further.
The Jefferson County Commission would call for the election and they would choose the date, according to Ramey.
“They need to give me at least 85 days to prepare for the election,” said Ramey.
The recall ballot will be set up in a “for” and “against” format, and include the reasons for the recall as well as a statement from the officials in question as to why they should not be recalled, according to state statute.
The Basin Water and Sewer District has a five member board and it currently has two vacancies. One of those slots will be filled by Dede Rhodes on May 5. The other vacancy will require the Board to advertise for, and appoint a replacement.
If all the Board members resign prior to May 5, the Commissioners have the authority to appoint additional Board members, said Ramey.
If they resign after Rhodes takes office, she has the authority to appoint new Board members, said Ramey.
The controversy that has led to the recall petitions began a year ago when the Board enacted water rate changes in anticipation of receiving a loan from the state to pay for reinstating the Quartz Avenue pump house and installing water meters.
The former portion of the project has since been shelved, but the Board continues to investigate the use of water meters for detecting leaks at the personal property level, as well as set the stage for receiving future funding for infrastructure upgrades and repairs, as many loan sources require those be installed.
The Board is also looking into ordering a preliminary engineering report to assess the entire system.
Those opposed to the Board’s action have objected to the use of water meters, are concerned about a small community taking on a loan that has to be repaid by ratepayers, as well as having raised questions about the District’s finances.
The Basin Water and Sewer District isn’t the only such entity in Jefferson County to experience controversy and upheaval.
Late last year, two members of the Clancy Water and Sewer District Board quit, leaving just the President, David Leitheiser, to appoint new members, which he did. The issue in Clancy stems from elevated levels of nitrates and uranium in the drinking water. The District had been looking at building a centralized water system, but last year failed to secure a test well location to get the process started. Since then, a new Board has been appointed and the project is at a relative standstill. In the case of Clancy, the District Board, the Jefferson County Commission, as well as Health Board plan to have a town hall with residents to discuss the situation and how to proceed.
