PLANET OFFERS INTERNSHIPS … EX-CITY WATER DEPT. MGR. SUSPENDED AS WATER SUPERVISOR IN HADLEY
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary
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***** HOUSE AD *****
TWO SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE! Planet Valenti Dot Com (www.planetvalenti.com) is offering intern positions for two writers, preferably college students of recent college grads. One will cover the Pittsfield Suns baseball, home games. The other will help out with our coverage of the arts, with an emphasis on theater and stage shows.
Ideal candidates will be good writers capable of meeting deadlines, able to follow instruction, with interest in and knowledge of the respective coverage areas. Our writers will be intelligent team players — creative, ambitious self-starters.
THE PLANET internships will offer a small cash honorarium upon acceptance, regular publication in the area’s most read and most followed website, free admission to events, great clippings for the portfolio, valuable work experience, and a beneficial addition to your resume.
NO PHONE CALLS. Apply by e-mail to danvalenti@verizon.net or by mail to PLANET VALENTI, c/o Europolis Management, P.O. Box 1268, Stockbridge, MA 01262. Application deadline: Monday, June 8. Send a brief letter, your resume, and no more than three writing samples.
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(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015) — About six years ago word surfaced of a scandal in the Pittsfield Water Department. It involved an alleged overtime scam that cost taxpayers nearly half-a-million.
THE PLANET first heard about it from former city worker and 2009 mayoral candidate Jeff Ferrin. Both then-mayor Jimmy Ruberto and city DPW consultant John Barrett III confirmed to THE PLANET the essential truth of Ferrin’s claims. Consequently, Ruberto delivered an ultimatum to employee Matt Inhelder: If Inhelder didn’t resign effective immediately, the city would take the case to the D.A.’s office.
Lo and behold, Inhelder left, only to be immediately hired to head the water department in Hadley.
Fast forward to the present, and we have an update: Inhelder has just been suspended from his job — paid administrative leave — in Hadley. It’s not clear why the town took this action. Here’s the story filed by Dan Crowley, reporter and editor of The Daily Hampshire Gazette.
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Hadley water treatment plant operator, Matthew Inhelder, placed on paid leave; town manager won’t say why
(Published in print: Saturday, May 23, 2015)
HADLEY — The town’s primary water treatment plant operator has been put on paid administrative leave, although town officials are not saying why.
Matthew N. Inhelder confirmed Friday that Town Administrator David G. Nixon went to the water treatment plant off Bay Road and placed him on leave May 8, though he said he does not know the reason for the action.
“I’m at a total loss,” Inhelder said in a telephone interview from upstate New York. “They’ve given me no reason for the paid leave as of now.”
Nixon declined to provide any details when contacted by the Gazette, including whether he placed Inhelder on leave. “We don’t speak about personnel matters,” Nixon said.
Inhelder, of Lenox, has been working for the town since 2010 running the water treatment plant after working for Pittsfield’s water department. He earned $85,539 last year, which included $22,294 in overtime, according to town records.
His leave coincides with the town’s hiring of a consulting firm to assist with unspecified technical matters at the plant and a training conducted by General Electric for employees involved with operating the water treatment facility.
“It’s so we could get more people trained on the equipment than currently were,” Nixon said.
He said the town recently issued a water quality report with good marks. “Things are normal, the water is safe, everything is operating fine,” he added.
For his part, Inhelder said he enjoys his job at the water treatment plant and hopes to return. His duties have been taken over by Bruce Merriam, the plant’s primary distribution operator, according to DPW Superintendent Michael Klimoski.
“Everything I’ve done has been transparent,” Inhelder said. “I think it’s a great place to work. It’s a great facility. It’s a very exciting career.”
Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.
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As a refresher, THE PLANET posted this in 2010:
THE PLANET has learned more about the city council’s recent executive session. Behind closed doors, sources say councilors heard a briefing from Mayor Jimmy Ruberto regarding the case of former water department administrator Matt Inhelder.
Mayor Ruberto forced Inhelder to resign in June. This came after the mayor received the findings of consultant John Barrett’s investigation into alleged wrongdoing unearthed by former DPW employee Jeff Ferrin and a city water department worker.
Sources told THE PLANET that Ferrin and Barrett uncovered evidence within the water department in which at least one employee engaged in a massive overtime scheme that robbed taxpayers of nearly a half million dollars in a little over two years. The fraud continued at least that long, sources said, apparently without being detected by the city, suggesting a dramatic lack of oversight.
Inhelder resigned from his Pittsfield position. Amazingly, he quickly found work as water department supervisor for the town of Hadley, even though, according to Hadley sources, both the town administrator and the select board knew about the scandal. Hadley officials would not comment.
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THE PLANET shall inform you of any new from Hadley in the Inhelder case. With a track record like that, perhaps Mayor Dan Bianchi would want Inhelder for his administration. He’d fit right in, wouldn’t he?.
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“This stone is genuine, like love should be. And if your baby’s truer than my baby was to me. This diamond ring can shine like it did before.” — Gary Lewis and The Playboys, “This Diamond Ring,” (1965).
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
Jimmy Ruberto’s picture hangs on the wall of the Massachusetts Ethics Commission for Most Valuable Client. Jimmy Ruberto’s picture also hangs on the wall of Pittsfield politics Good Old Boys network Hall of Fame with his pals Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr. and Carmen C. Massimiano, Jr. as runners up. The Berkshire Eagle Editors said that Ruberto made Pittsfield a better community! He revitalized downtown Pittsfield with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to transform North Street from a dark hole at night to a cultural mecca that rivals Paris, London, Manhattan, and L.A. Thousands of people have flocked to North Street to experience the richness of third-rate artists and empty storefronts. Jimmy Ruberto said he had a business rolodex that would bring economic, population and job growth to Pittsfield. It must have been one heck of a rolodex, as the exact opposite happened during his 8 year tenure as Mayor of Pittsfield. The only growth in Pittsfield under Mayor Ruberto was taxes, fees, spending, debt, teen pregnancies, welfare caseloads, crime, unemployment, job loss population loss, GE selling its plastics unit, KB Toys liquidating into bankruptcy, PCBs and cancer patients, political corruption. It was a good thing North Adams’ John Barrett III saved the day with a lucrative public salary. While North Adams went financially insolvent and the North Adams Hospital closing, John Barrett III was able to save Pittsfield taxpayers money by reforming the city government services. But just like the Iraq Wars were about the World’s 2nd largest oil reserves next to Saudi Arabia, Ruberto’s plums for Barrett was about the Good Old Boys network taking care of one of their own. But according to The Berkshire Eagle’s Editors, Ruberto and Barrett are the next best thing since sliced bread. North Adams is insolvent, while Pittsfield is so deep in debt that it makes global warming and rising sea levels seem minor.
Looks like the town of Hadley has been Had.
To the town of Hadley we offer these words of wisdom:
A tiger cannot change his stripes. A leopard cannot change his spots. When the scorpion was asked, “why did you sting me?”, his response was “because I am a scorpion”.
“If we don’t pay our workers enough, they will pay themselves, one way or another”.
– Barry Clairmont/live mic/in session
The elephant in the room question is: why weren’t Pittsfield city taxpayers reinbursed the half million dollars?
This is/was one more case that left the Pittsfield taxpayer dumbfounded and bewildered. Not much you can do about it. It is the Pittsfield way.
The very reason Voting is so important. Clean House should be the Taxpayers priority in Pittsfield.
I would love to clean house, but some of the councilors don’t even have anyone running against them. My Ward 1 for example. Same old same old person who voted for the new Taconic is running. I can’t run. Wish I could, but am simply unable to at this time.
Pat,
I was at a neighborhood watch info session last night where the Ward 1 councilor bought a security camera system and gave it away. Why don’t you run for Ward 1 and tell us what you would do to make life better for us.
So Tully gives away a security system that she got for free and that makes her a good Councilor? I am from Ward 1 and can tell you she has been a huge failure on many fronts. She came to my door and promised never to raise my taxes and then like a high school cheerleader she was the first one to vote for the new school.
As far as Inhelder goes the reason why they could not bring his case forward is because Bruce Collingwood signed off on all the overtime including times when I header was at Disney World.
and Henry,I wonder who wrote him a nice evaluation so he could get the new job so quickly?
First of all I would try to make the city safer so I wouldn’t need a security camera system. I think Lisa means well, but she is just completely out of touch with the realities of what is going on in the city. Pittsfield will be giving free breakfasts and lunches in the schools beginning in the fall because Pittsfield is so poor that we qualify for the free food for the kids. I’m glad the kids will be getting the free food, but what does this say about the city that so many are so poor that we qualify for this? It’s tells me that Pittsfield has gone way downhill from its glory days. Bad leadership and bad people in positions of authority have brought this once great city to its knees. People who care more about their own wallets than those of the people they were elected to serve. That’s one of the major problems.
Lisa voted for school increases each and every time even though this hurts the poor families she says she cares about by giving them higher taxes. Even if they don’t own their own homes which many poor and lowers middle class do not, they will pay higher rents as tax increases on landlords are passed on to their tenants. If the higher taxes were needed for the school that would be one thing, but the schools have enough money. The budget increases each year are going into the pockets of school administrators and teachers who are already extremely overpaid. We need people with common sense to run this city not more out of touch people who can’t think for themselves. Holyoke got a brand new technical vocational school years ago, but it’s done nothing to help the poor of the city. The city is doing worse than ever and the schools are now in receivership by the state. Jobs are what is needed. Politicians who know how to create jobs and bring in well paying companies to the area. Progressive politics are hurting this area badly because progressives do not create a friendly business environment for business.
Pat I definitely wish that you would reconsider. I think a person like you would bring great inteligence to the council.
Pat I definitely wish that you would reconsider. I think a person like you would bring great intelligence to the council.
At least he is on paid leave thanks to the good people of Hadley. This gives him time off with pay to seek employment elsewhere.
I didn’t read in the Berkshire Eagle but heard from a much more reliable source that there is going to be an opening for someone to manage the Pittsfield airport.
With a fresh influx of Pittsfield taxpayer cash to the tune of 3.5 million dollars, makes it a perfect time to run an overtime scam there.
Being an enemy of Ruberto makes him a natural friend of Bianchi. Besides Bianchi needs a man who keep his mouth shut. When Bianchi yells “LockDown”, he expects unconditional complience.
Spagirl, you have “hit the nail on the head”. People have to VOTE!
Bill if the candidates on the ticket are in the pockets of the suits before they are even elected nothing changes. That has been the problem for many years. Changing the names of the people on the dais does not necessarily mean good things are going to happen.
Well, that $22,294 in overtime sure seems suspicious. And since when do salaried employees, and any management job should be salaried, get paid OT? Aren’t they exempt positions? Do public employees who are in salaried positions somehow get paid overtime? Ask a private sector salaried employee how much overtime they get.
In our society cheating and lying gets rewarded again and again.
To Henry,
How do you know the ward 1 councilor did not purchase the security system?
Also, I am a taxpayer who approves of the new high school. I don’t have children that will attend it and I don’t have a financial interest in having it built. I know that is an unpopular position on this site, but this new school is needed and the majority of the funding is from Massachusetts, not the city.
Sal, that is the debate – alot of us think that the school is not ‘needed’. The reasons given all seemed like BS – like the current school was ‘only built to last 30 years’, the corridors are dark, it will bring more students to Pittsfield, etc. And the exorbitant estimate at renovation seemed very suspicious.
Just check out what the new high school in Holyoke did there.
Well Sal I am a tax payer who would like to have a choice and Tully was part of the process that gave us NO CHOICE.
I am on a fixed income being retired on Social Security and have watched as Bianchi & Tully raise my taxes year in and year out on waste full spending. Tully came to my door and told me she was different then the former Ward 1 Councilor because she understood my position and would be different.
ya she is different alright.?….
Henry,
Is there a reason why you continue to make false statements?
http://www.iberkshires.com/story/46821/Pittsfield-Council-Passes-2015-Budget-Minus-Capital-Plan.html
Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi and Ward 1 Councilor Lisa Tully voted against the FY15 budget, which represents a $4.1 million increase over the previous year. Both councilors cited the increase as too much of a tax burden on lower-income homeowners and local business.
Sitting thru the budget hearings and voting in favor of every departments budget, not making one amendment to lower any increase, and then voting against the budget as a whole is disingenuous at the very best. That is politics at its very best learned from her mentor Dan Bianchi.
Tully is part of the problem not the solution.
I have no sympathy for Hadley. If they knew, as you say, about his past questionable record in Pittsfield, they deserve what they got.
It’s scary how dumb these city and town administrations really are.
One again my thank to this website for providing coverage we won’t get and can’t get anywhere else.
This is something that never ceases to amaze me how one man (granted with a lot of contacts) can keep digging up these stories while entire news organizations including the Eagle cannot–or will not.
It’s not that they can’t. It’s that they won’t because they need to make us all believe everything is great in the city. Just put on your happy face.
The Eagle is a second rate outfit.
The Berkshire Eagle is a third rate rag without a conscience. The Eagle is part of the problem in Pittsfield politics. Dan Valenti is the only one being rational by blogging about Pittsfield’s unsustainable finances. Pittsfield automatically raises taxes and fees, increasing spending by millions of dollars per year, and has hundreds of millions of dollars in debts. Pittsfield will go bankrupt if it doesn’t stop taxing, spending, and borrowing money with a shrinking population and diminishing tax base. Over 60 percent of Pittsfield is on welfare or low income. That means that a minority of Pittsfield residents are actually paying taxes. This is a recipe for financial ruin and disaster. Pittsfield already went into state government receivership after the Gerry Doyle debacle, where millions of dollars are still unaccounted for through present day. Gerry Doyle also signed the fraudulent Consent Decree with then GE CEO Jack Welch, which still leaves Pittsfield polluted with toxic waste cancer causing chemicals called PCBs. Pittsfield politics is either delusional or in denial about its financial realities. Ruberto bet it all on a revitalized downtown that still poor, distressed, and a place most people avoid, especially after hours. Mayor Dan Bianchi is betting it all on a new Taconic High School. PEDA is a failure. Since PEDA began 17 years ago in 1998, there is no economic growth in Pittsfield. Taxes are too high for businesses in Pittsfield. Businesses have moved to other areas of the country and world because of high taxes and other costs. The Berkshire Eagle won’t write about the sad and depressed realities Pittsfield faces. The Eagle loves Jimmy Ruberto. I collected a series of facts about Mayor Jimmy Ruberto’s real economic record, and it is not pretty!
ALL FACTS – “Remembering Ruberto’s Record on Jobs”
* On December 8, 2008, Sabic Innovative Plastics laid off 40 of its 300 local employees. On December 11, 2008, KB Toys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in four years with the intention of liquidating the entire company. The 225 full-time employees at KB’s Pittsfield headquarters will all be laid off by May 2009, company officials have said.
* “Berkshire County unemployment rate soars”, By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, January 28, 2009, Berkshire County’s unemployment rate reached its highest level in 13 years in December…Berkshire County is now outpacing the state.
* Berkshire County’s unemployment rate hit a 16-year high in 2009. Source: “Berkshire County Unemployment: Job outlook uncertain”, By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, January 3, 2010.
*”Jobless rate now at 10.4%: Unemployment in Berkshire County is at its highest level since the early 1990s.” By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff, March 11, 2010.
* Berkshire Health Systems, facing a decline in patient visits, told employees on Wednesday it will cut the equivalent of 65 full-time positions.Source: “Berkshire Health Systems shedding jobs” (By Jack Dew, Berkshire Eagle Staff, June 18, 2009).
* Berkshire Health Systems, the parent company of Berkshire Medical Center, announced today that 124 full- and part-time employees — or 3.7 percent of the workforce — have received layoff notices. “Berkshire Health Systems announces layoffs.”, By Dick Lindsay, Berkshire Eagle Staff, August 5, 2010.
* Berkshire County’s population dropped by more than 5,600 to 129,288 residents between 2000 and 2009, according to the American Community Survey. Pittsfield accounted for almost 2,800 of those departures: There were 45,793 city residents in 2000 compared with 43,000 last year. Source: “Census shows decline in county population”, By Dick Lindsay, Berkshire Eagle Staff, December 16, 2010.
* NEWS ARTICLE:
“Bump looks to address job losses in Berkshires”
2/19/2007 , By: Karen Honikel, (Capital News 9 out of Albany, NY covering the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts)
Governor Deval Patrick’s new Executive Director of Workforce Development isn’t wasting any time getting down to business.
Former State Representative Suzanne Bump is working to introduce herself to the local business communities and let them know she will make sure the Berkshires are not forgotten on Beacon Hill. She says a major concern right now is addressing the loss of jobs in the Berkshires.
Currently the Berkshires have the highest rate of job loss in Massachusetts. Bump says this can be changed with the right policies in place. She says she will be meeting with the Governor once a week to work on bringing skilled workers and higher paying jobs into the area.
Bump says a key part to local job growth and development will be finding a way to keep the younger workers in the Berkshires.
.. As a staunch supporter of woman s rights and rights for all people. I strongly support the inclusions of all to participate in our AMERICAN way of life. Individuals can not be judged by their gender or the color of their skin or by the religion they l chose to embrace. Conversely , we cant choose our political candidates based on their minority status or any other advantage other than being the best qualified. WHEN gave us MAZZEO, TULLY, BOVIER,
AND THE WORST WANNA BE CANDIDATE OF ALL TIME, PUMMELIN PAM MULUMPHY. She is a disgrace and certainly no model for educated and upwardly mobile modern women. I was raised on the west side and find that Churchill Cotton is nothing but a mouth piece for Bianchi and certainly does not have a good take on what is happening in this city. HE can be counted on as a BIANCHI VOTE EVERY TIME. Has anyone ever seen him do anything that betters the life of hard working and barely surviving residents of this city ? Certainly, I haven’t and I am at city council meetings speaking on behalf of the beloved people of this city who I will make sure will be heard when I am mayor. Again JIM THERIEN DOES NOT REPORT to the electorate what really is being said at the city council meeting and instead reports only what the mayor and council have to say THIS becomes a serious problem for candidates who the public needs to hear from so they can go to the polls educated as to who will best represent our city. I visit the senior center often to educate our seniors as to what is going on in this city which they are not being apprised of by the Eagle news dept. This is criminal to keep our citizens in the dark but believe that is the intent. I wish I could hear some info from the other mayoral candidates. I cant imagine entering the mayoral race and having nothing to say in well over a month Perhaps that is the reason and that’s what you should remember in the fall elections. Back to the jungle. WE will be opening the cages and all of us will be free and given the chance to survive in the very forseable future. ALL we need now is the keys to the cage.PEACE CRAIG
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I hope you run Craig and I hope you win, youre the only candidate talking about the real issues, namely the overspending and out of control budget. You ahve my vote…
“have”
Go Craig Go! Please
I seen a shirtless man all fours on Wahconah today, two policeman were hovering over him. Maybe they were trying to put his shirt back on for him.
“Bianchi says his [budget] plan largely holds the line on city spending.”
http://wamc.org/post/bianchi-seeks-145m-budget-10m-capital-projects-pittsfield
Then why is Mayor Dan Bianchi raising taxes by nearly 3 percent?