WPCA Parachute: $108K

Sections

Neighborhoods

Features

NHI Newsletter

Legal Notices

Some Favorite Sites

Government/ Community Links

by Paul Bass | Oct 14, 2008 7:49 am

(10) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

When the sewer authority’s executive director suddenly resigned, he left with a six-figure check and an agreement by his board to hide the reasons from the public.

The executive director, Dominick DiGangi (pictured), resigned mid-contract from the Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority on Aug. 12. At the time, WPCA officials wouldn’t say why — or how much they were paying him in severance.

The answer to the latter question arrived in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Independent. The WPCA forwarded a copy of DiGangi’s separation agreement.

According to the agreement, the WPCA was to pay DiGangi $108,502 in “separation pay” “commencing on the first payroll period” following his resignation. He also got $26,048 in “accumulated paid time off benefits.”

In return for the dough, DiGangi promised not to sue the agency.

Why he left — and why public ratepayers’ money went toward a parachute of that magnitude — remains a public mystery.

Those questions have resonance in New Haven for two reasons.

Reason one: The WPCA claimed it is so pressed for money that it needed to embark on New Haven’s most aggressive foreclosure tear. It has initiated well over 100 foreclosure suits, going after New Haven people’s homes for as little as $793 in unpaid sewer bills.

Reason two: The WPCA is a quasi-public agency, created by government — in a process that raised fears of a loss of public accountability. The WPCA used to be a city government agency responsible for treating not just New Haven’s sludge but waste sent from neighboring towns to the East Shore plant. The DeStefano administration in 2005 agreed to hand over control of the facility to a new regional version of the body, controlled by suburbs with whom the city has had prior billing and environmental disputes, in order to plug a one-time hole in the city budget.

New Haven did get a few appointments to the new authority’s board. But those New Haven appointees aren’t talking; they failed to return repeated phone calls for comment on DiGangi’s departure. The appointees even include an alderman, Alphonse Paolillo Jr.

While they were allegedly appointed to represent New Haven ratepayers, they and other WPCA officials apparently feel bound by Section 7 of DiGangi’s separation agreement. It reads:

“7. Non-Disparagement. Each of DiGangi and the GNHWPCA agrees that each shall not disparage the other. If asked about the substance, conditions, associated with the separation of DiGangi’s employment from the GNHWPCA, each party will respond “I have no comment” or “The separation of DiGangi was amicable” or similar words to that effect.”

Which is in fact what board Chairman Stephen Mongillo said when asked by the Independent to explain DiGangi’s hush-hush departure. Mongillo called the departure “an amicable separation… We have a mutual separation agreement. It was amicable. That’s all I can say about it.” DiGangi couldn’t be reached for comment.

For now the agency is being run day-to-day by Chief Financial Officer Gabe Varca, with no increase in his salary. A search will take place for his successor, according to Mongillo. With a hefty parachute to fund for the last executive director, the authority wasn’t in a rush to begin the new search.

Comments

posted by: ROBN on October 14, 2008 8:00am

Clean fresh water is becoming scarce in many parts of the world and is described by many economists as the new oil (ownership of which may be subject to violent dispute). Enron was making moves into the private ownership of water, as have many companies following in their footsteps. So I guess my question (for the NHI) is, is this authority secure from private economic vultures?

posted by: JP on October 14, 2008 8:12am

Im not sure 100K is considered a parachute seems like A reasonable number to me. Do we know what that is in terms of his yearly salary?

posted by: Walt on October 14, 2008 8:33am

The Sewer Authority (like the national “Maes” and the area Water Authority) supposedly is secure from politicians and opportunists alike, but in oreality are seem somewhat secret, special category private fiefdoms.

If they are not required to be open to reasonable public scrutiny, the regs should be changed.

Way too much secrecy. Can the Independent justify a freedom of information effort, Paul?

(Dont be upset if we happen to agree, ROBN. It does not mean that you are wrong.)

posted by: ROBN on October 14, 2008 9:00am

WALT,

Its always nice to find common ground…namely…H2O is important.

posted by: Gary Doyens on October 14, 2008 9:23am

$108,000 parachute is a lot of money. In New Haven, the median income is less than half of that. This agency is subject to Freedom of Information and every single action, decision, meeting and document they possess should be public. It never ceases to amaze me that people who drink at the public trough, suckle on the public teat claiming the halo of “public service” and then exemplify such disdain when the public wants to know what’s going on at their agency.

And through the foreclosures, through the hiding of information, Mayor DeStefano and surprisingly Alder Paolillo, stays on the sidelines and remains quiet. This is what breeds cynicism about government and those that run it. The stunning failure of leadership continues.

posted by: Sewer Rat on October 14, 2008 9:25am

The GNHWPCA web site http://gnhwpca.org is now down. When or if it comes on line again go to the directors meetings and look at the agendas, minutes, etc. These give an indication of the problems. Litigation and claims with the DEP, the City of New Haven and OMI. Also labor negotiations and proposed new charges. All these were discussed over many months in executive session. There are clearly severe problems.

An interesting fact is that Richrad Miller and Larry Smith from the City Engineers Office attended these private discussions. Have they taken over from Dominic DeGangi? Does this mean the city will need to take control of the WPCA? If this is the case will it have to pay back the money it got when it sold it? How much will this cost tax payers?

posted by: Sewer Rat on October 14, 2008 9:33am

Sorry, Paul

The GNHWPCA web site is now back on line without the Directors Meeting agendas and minutes. I wonder why? More FOI work for you.

posted by: ConnSeattle on October 14, 2008 12:09pm

Site’s back up with agendas and minutes. Check out January 08. Looks like the directors (the board members) get paid, because at least officers got raises. I thought you couldn’t get paid for serving on a public body. Anyone know what their total compensation is?

posted by: nina on October 16, 2008 10:09am

i agree with robn about water (and other ‘basics’ being the new money makers and subject to corporate monopolies. i’d be interested in knowing where the mayor stands on this and if he intends to do anything. this is a serious concern going forward and, after all, his administration created this. the i’d also be interested in know if the mayor - - or anyone else at the city for that matter—has done or will do anything to prevent foreclosures for relatively small bills.

posted by: anon on October 16, 2008 1:27pm

sewer rat - are you saying that the city engineer attended executive sessions on this emloyment issue? Or?

What was his yearly salary? It’s hard to gauge the severence when we don’t know what he was paid to run the agency. Is he getting a full year’s salary as severence, something like that?

The board members do get paid because it is very heavy work—it is not like other government boards.

the board members get paid something like $7000 plus or minus a year (?) Something like that—can’t remember. But Degangis was not a board member - he was the guy who actually ran the water treatment authority for the four towns. That is a pretty big job.

Would his departure be at all connected to the environmental fund the director wanted control of?

Also, mayor just appointed a lawyer in corp. counsel to the board, to fill a vacant seat - wonder how woodbridge, east haven and hamden are going to feel about that. Can she even attend executive sessions involving litigation with the city of new haven? Can she not? What is appropriate there?

From the outside, WPCA is looking like its a target of some political maneuvering.

Again, on city employees, including corp counsel lawyers, on boards:

Destefano can not appoint city employees to city boards, but I guess he can and does appoint:

1. employees of quasi-city agencies like Housing Authority to city boards and commissions.

2. Appoints city employees to quasi-public boards like the regional board of the WPCA. (a corp counsel lawyer at that)

Obviously it allows him the opportunity to exert more control over these boards.

My advice to the WPCA is stock up on the Tums.

New Haven Independent

New Haven Independent Login Form