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Mt. Jewett water plant operator is fired |
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Written by Publisher
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Thursday, 29 October 2009 |
MT. JEWETT – Brett Morgan has been fired as the operator of the water plant in Mt. Jewett.
Morgan confirmed Wednesday that he was abruptly fired 10 days ago by Jim Troutman, chairman of the seven-member Mt. Jewett Borough Water Authority.
Morgan said he was fired when he made a morning stop Monday, Oct. 19 at the authority office, which at the time was still located in the borough building on Center Street.
He said Troutman “told me my services were no longer required.” “I turned in my keys and pager,” Morgan said. He claims Troutman “gave me no reason” in the verbal dismissal. He said he has not received a written termination notice.
Troutman said Wednesday that the authority would not comment on the matter because it’s a personnel issue.
The volunteer authority reportedly has been unhappy with some of Morgan’s work for several months.
During its monthly public meetings, the authority has often gone into closed executive session to discuss issues involving Morgan.
Although he said his sudden dismissal came as a “shock,” Morgan also said “I saw it coming.”
“They were looking for a reason to fire me,” Morgan said. “It’s a real slap in the face. A lot of people say I got a raw deal.”
Morgan said he began work as the water plant operator two years ago at the rate of $10 per hour. He said he was earning $11.50 per hour when he was fired.
Morgan said he has taken several state tests and holds a Class C operator’s license issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He said he also has undergone 15 hours of extra training at Penn State over the past two years and has passed four different tests to upgrade his state operator’s license.
The Pennsylvania Rural Water Association this year named Morgan as one of its three nominees for a state performance award for “rookie” water plant operators.
Morgan is a lieutenant in the Mt. Jewett Volunteer Fire Department and has been a member of the fire department for eight years. He said he started with the department as “a junior fireman.”
A 2006 graduate of Kane Area High School, Morgan served as a part-time worker at the Mt. Jewett water plant under former certified operators Dave Randall and Jason Raught. When Raught left in October 2007, the authority named Morgan as plant operator.
Morgan, 22, has served on the Mt. Jewett Borough Council since his appointment to the legislative body four years ago at the age of 18. At the time, he was one of the youngest municipal legislators in the state.
Morgan last May ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for mayor of Mt. Jewett. He continues to hold a seat on council and is not up for election Nov. 3.
While a student at Kane High School, Morgan served as the first Mt. Jewett non-voting “junior” councilman. He has since been invited to speak about his experience with the “junior” councilman program at a conference of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (PSAB).
Morgan, who resides at 10 Peterson St., Mt. Jewett, is the father of a 2-year-old son, Joshua.
Morgan said his firing Oct. 19 came three days after his attendance at a PSAB conference in Erie.
Morgan said he took a vacation day to represent Mt. Jewett at the conference Friday, Oct. 16.
Morgan’s service on the borough council reportedly has been a factor in his deteriorating relationship with the water authority over the past 18 months.
Morgan said the authority “blamed me” for supporting council’s move earlier this year to seek proposals from private companies to take over the Mt. Jewett water system.
“They (the authority) thought I was the motivator behind it,” Morgan said.
The authority went strongly on record against selling the public water system to a private company. Proposals from private companies came in, but no sale is being considered at this time.
Morgan said he also received criticism from the authority last year during a water shortage crisis in Mt. Jewett.
“I was blamed for that, too,” Morgan said.
He called his relationship with some authority members as “politically charged” because of his service on council.
Since council sought proposals for the possible sale of the water system, there has been a cool relationship between some authority members and some council members.
Certain Mt. Jewett council members are convinced that this rift prompted the authority to move last weekend from the borough building to a privately-owned storefront at 44 W. Main St. Instead of paying $400 per month in rent to the borough, the authority will be paying the same amount to John Archer, the owner of the building at 44 W. Main St. The authority’s controversial decision to move has created a $4,800 shortfall in the borough budget for 2010.
The authority earlier this year hired Tim Burns, a retired Bradford city water department employee, to work on a part-time basis at the Mt. Jewett water plant. He has since left the position.
According to Morgan, the authority brought in Burns in an effort to replace him.
“They (the authority) offered Burns my job, but he turned them down,” Morgan said.
According to a spokesman for the authority, the mandated state-licensed operator at the Mt. Jewett water plant now is listed as Jim McCloskey of Kane.
The spokesman said Bob Thompson is performing much of the daily work at the plant. Thompson is a former water authority member who resigned when he moved to Smethport.
Morgan pointed out that only a state-certified operator is authorized to make certain “adjustments” at the water treatment plant.
Morgan said he plans to seek work as a state-licensed water plant operator because “I love the job.” Despite frequent criticism from the authority, Morgan believes he has left the Mt. Jewett water system “in better shape than when I found it.”
According to a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association (PNA), the firing of Morgan and the hiring of McCloskey and Thompson without a vote at a public authority meeting appear to be violations of the state Sunshine Law.
The spokesman said this law allows the authority to discuss personnel issues in private. But any action must take place at a public meeting, the spokesman said.
The authority plans to hold a special meeting Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at its new office at 44 W. Main St. This meeting is open to the public.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 November 2009 )
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