MORE HOT WATER FOR INHELDER? EXECUTIVE SESSION IN HADLEY TONIGHT TO AIR ‘CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST PUBLIC EMPLOYEE, DPW, WATER DIVISION’
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2015) — THE PLANET recently (and exclusively) told you about the hot water former Pittsfield Water Department manager Matt Inhelder has evidently gotten himself into in the Town of Hadley.
You will recall that Inhelder “resigned” his position in Pittsfield six years ago shortly after whistleblower Jeff Ferrin unearthed evidence suggesting a massive overtime scheme and scandal in the water department. According to John Barrett III, former North Adams mayor and then-DPW consultant for Pittsfield Mayor Jimmy Ruberto, the evidence place Inhelder at the center of the probe. Barret told THE PLANET and Ruberto confirmed that Inhelder was given a choice: Either resign immediately or face prosecution. Inhelder vamoosed faster than Usain Bolt.
Astoundingly, immediately after high-tailing it out of Pittsfield, Hadley hired Inhelder to head the town’s water department, this despite the select board there having knowledge of the Pittsfield escapades. Think, perhaps, the town regrets its hire? Think they should have listened to those who testified about what they knew of the Pittsfield OT scheme? We leave you to decide for yourself, dear readers.
Here’s the story filed by Dan Crowley, reporter and editor of The Daily Hampshire Gazette.
——– 000 ——–
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.
UPDATE!!!
Tonight, the Town of Hadley selectboard conducts it regular meeting. Here’s the agenda:
Executive Session
MGL Chapter 30A, Section 21. (a) (1) To … discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or
complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or
individual. Personnel – Department of Public Works (Water Division).
——– 000 ——–
As the old Dragnet theme used to strum: Dum de-dum-dum. Of course, this is a hearing, and as we all know from sixth grade civics, everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Previous wrongdoing should have no bearing on present-day allegations.
Yes, to be sure, and in a 40-yard footrace between Usain Bolt and THE PLANET, on paper, we would both be presumed the have an equal chance at winning.
THE PLANET thanks our colleague Dan Crowley at the Daily Hampshire Gazette for helping us stay abreast of the Inhelder Affair.
—————————————————————————————————-
“In constant sorrow all through his days
I am a man of constant sorrow
I’ve seen trouble all my days
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was born and raised
The place where he was born and raised
For six long years I’ve been in trouble
No pleasures here on earth I found
For in this world I’m bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now.” — The Soggy Bottom Boys, “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, (1913)
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
Lest anyone think there are not lessons to learned here…. there is.
Out on paid leave (vacation) affords him the opportunity to seek employment elsewhere while still picking up a pay check. Can you do something questionable involving investigation and get paid leave?
Perhaps he can get a job in Lanesboro alongside Swail (rymes with fail). Maybe Mr. Monterosso can also join them, making them the 3 Musketeers of Lanesboro.
What do we learn from this?
If we don’t pay our city employers boukoos of money, we could lose them to other municipalities. As Barry says, if we don’t pay them enough, they will pay themselves one way or another. Implying that we must pay them tons of money to keep them honest.
What are the alternatives?
Lose them to other cities and towns….
Pay them $150,000.00 despite allegations of sexual harrassment…
Pay dearly in overtime schemes….
We must learn from our mistakes.
BARTLETT–IF we were to advertise every city position for half the pay some of these payroll patriots are receiving we would have long lines from city hall down to the Peda property. IN DETROIT, THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW AND WITH FRESH TEACHERS RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE REAL EDUCATION WILL HAVE A CHANCE BECAUSE NEW TEACHERS COME IN WITH HIGH EXPECTATION. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT THEY DO ABOUT TENURE. THIS TENURE IS VERY TRICKY,IT DOES INSURE THAT THOSE LICKING THe BOOTS OF THE PRINCIPAL WILL DEFINETLY GET TENURE. ON THE OTHER HAND BAD TEACHERS HAVE TO BE WEEDED OUT. THE HUGE PROBLEM IS THAT THE PRINCIPAL CAN GET RID OF ANYONE THEY WANT FOR NO REASON AT ALL. TEACHERS SHOULD BE EVALUATED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SAME CERTIFICATION AS THE PERSON THEY ARE EVALUATING.WHAT WE SHOULD DO IS TO LET THE STATE CERTIFY TEACHERS EVERY TWO YEARS WITH STANDARDIZED TESTING. THIS MAY NOT BE THE BEST SITUATION BUT IT IS A START. NO PRINCIPAL WITH A BACKGROUND IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION SHOULD NEVER BE EVALUATING TEACHERS WITH DEGREES IN PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY ,BIOLOGY ETC. AND THIS IS THE CASE VERY FREQUENTLY. IT WOULD BE LIKE ELMER FUD REVIEWING THE WORK OF AN ARCHITECT BUILDING THRE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. THIS IS A FUN ANALYSIS BUT YOU GET THE POINT. ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN AND SOMETHING DIFFERENT MUST REPLACE WHAT WE HAVE NOW BECAUSE LOOK AT THE TYPE OF STUDENTS WE ARE GRADUATING. THIS IS AN ENORMOUS PROBLEM AND WE BETTER DO SOMETHING FAST BECAUSE THE US IS FALLING BEHIND MOST CIVILIZED COUNTRIES WHERE EDUCATION IS WORKING —–CRAIG
.
All of this and they put him on paid leave? I remember working for a company once in which I did absolutely nothing wrong, but was put on unpaid administrative leave. It later turned out that I didn’t break any company rules, but they just needed to lay off some people and they didn’t want them all to be able to collect unemployment so they first put them on unpaid leave as though they had done something really wrong and then they invented trumped up charges of things you had supposedly done wrong. This was a resort and they typically would lay off lots of people and this was how they avoided paying unemployment to everyone they would lay off. If you were fired which they eventually did after a 2 week unpaid layoff, you then had to fight to collect unemployment benefits since this is what happens when you are fired. Their first tatic, however, was to have a meeting in which they accused you of all sorts of things and hoped you would get so mad that you would quit. I did get mad and almost stormed out of the room saying “I quit”, but something told me to not give in so easily as what they were doing seemed so crazy. If I had quit I would have definitely been unable to collect unemployment benefits. It was such a scam. Some people won the fight to collect unemployment after eventually being fired while others lost and were not able to collect benefits. I won my claim to collect by proving that the charges they made up against me were totally false.
My point is that even somebody who does nothing wrong is put on an unpaid leave of absence in many companies. If they have such strong evidence against Mr. Inhelder, then why put him on paid leave?
Have you worked since?
Oh yes, that was about ten years ago, but it left me very suspicious of employers for a while to say the least, but I think I have overcome it. I work for a company now that treats workers with respect.
Jimmy Ruberto was not a good Mayor of Pittsfield! Thousands of jobs were lost during his 8 year long regime. Thousands of people moved out of Pittsfield, too. Ruberto spent tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars on revitalizing North Street from a slum into a so called cultural district. Ruberto added greatly to Pittsfield’s massive debts. Ruberto raised local taxes above the rate of inflation each and every year, and he called his tax hikes: “Sacrifice”. I wonder if the local people had to pay sacrifice to Ruberto’s huge ego? Ruberto did nothing about Pittsfield’s toxic waste PCBs. Local residents tried to reopen Gerry Dolye’s Consent Decree, but Jimmy Ruberto wouldn’t have any of it. What bothered me most about Ruberto is that he was a Good Old Boy, despite stating otherwise. His closest political cronies were Angelo Stracuzzi, Carmen Massimiano, and Andrea Nuciforo, etc. I am upset that Linda Tyer is using Jimmy Ruberto as a model politician for her campaign to oust Dan Bianchi. Like Mayor Dan Bianchi, Jimmy Ruberto was part of Pittsfield politics’ downward spiral.
DV the only true journalist in the area.