Macon Water Authority chairman seeks advice from DA, judge over alleged board misconduct

Macon Water Authority Chairman Sam Hart said he plans to contact the district attorney and chief judge of Superior Court of Bibb County for advice and a possible investigation into alleged board misconduct.

Hart said he received a formal complaint Friday from a member of the MWA board that four unnamed board members “may be operating out of the scope of MWA by-laws.”

The complaint came after Thursday’s committee meetings and called authority meeting executive session that prompted the resignation of Joey Leverette after nearly 10 months as president and executive director.

“More specifically, these four members may be in violation of the Georgia open meetings act by holding a number of private meetings outside of approved MWA board committee meetings,” Hart said.

State law prohibits a quorum of a governing authority to gather to discuss business outside of properly scheduled meetings.

Hart, who ends his two terms as chair at the end of the year, said board members are also accused of violating the by-laws by contacting MWA employees without proper approval from the executive director.

He said he was also concerned “that these same four are involved in discipline and termination of MWA employees that have resulted in a loss of leadership, and especially minority leadership in top positions.”

“Continuation of this behavior will erode the integrity of this office and risk wasting ratepayers money on wrongful termination suits and settlements,” Hart said. “I want to do everything to restore the integrity of this organization and alleviate any fears that employee might operate under during this most challenging time.”

Hart read a statement at the beginning of Thursday’s called meeting which was necessary to discuss and vote on Leverette’s resignation. After nearly two hours in executive session, the board accepted Leverette’s resignation and gave Hart permission to finalize Leverette’s settlement agreement.