09/03/2024
Opinion Piece by Brian Ehrmantraut
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14q0uuql0p5tAAexdLyWMYrJ3HoHfzA8WzoqCMPl0O7w/pub
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What do you all think about the EWUA controversy?
And, what should we all do about it?
I served on the EWUA board for over a decade, and served as its President for much of that time. Simply put, this affair does not look good to me, and there needs to be a change.
What I see:
On one “side” I see a group of EWUA directors, ex-directors, and concerned citizens asking some simple questions about alleged financial mismanagement. And staying pretty much on-point.
On the other “side” I see a group of EWUA directors, ex-directors, and the EWUA General Manager engaging in a constant stream of character attacks, botched elections and procedures, confusing and often incorrect or out-of-context messaging. I also see this group of directors seemingly cutting the other group of directors out of Board business, and using EWUA resources to advance their group’s narrative. I see this group consistently attempting to deflect, obscure, evade, and attack. (Bunnytrail: look up “Brandolini’s Law”)
I see EWUA spending a small fortune of the Association’s money litigating things that should have been simple conversations between board members, or simple actions by the board to remedy problems. I further see EWUA exposing the Association to considerable liability for the personal attacks it is engaging in.
I have personally observed highly dysfunctional EWUA board meetings over the past several months, with various board members accusing each other of crimes and bad character. I have seen the EWUA General Manager frequently speaking and acting hostilely and inappropriately towards board members and members of the public during meetings.
And, here’s the meat of the issue I think: I see a report from an independent forensic financial examiner hired by EWUA which raises some troubling concerns(1) . And now I see a newly-released email from the forensic examiner to the whole board laying out some deeper concerns(2, 3) :
(1)https://recallwater.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ForensicReport.pdf
(2) https://bit.ly/rw-AcuityForensics
(3) A quote from the email of the forensic examiner, if you don’t read the whole thing, bold face is mine:
”I recognize that you are afraid of losing Dan Burke. I also recognize that I was given limited information in my initial review. However, there are things going on here that give me pause and should be considered questionable. Questionable activity can often be curbed with proper oversight, retraining, and potential repayments of funds, if warranted. In my professional experience of over 25 years, questionable activity, left unchecked, often results in subsequent significant fraud. I know that none of you want that.”
(Disclosure: I have been asked to hold the proxies for those seeking to recall the Board majority and to retain the Board minority and have agreed to do so.)
I served on the EWUA board for over a decade, and served as its President for much of that time. Simply put, this affair does not look good to me, and there needs to be a change.
