Birmingham water board wrangles over chief executive’s departure

Sparks flew again at today’s Birmingham Water Works board meeting – this time over the departure of the company’s managing director.

The board voted 5-3 to accept the retirement of Michael Johnson, who has been CEO of the state’s largest water company for the past five years.

“I would like to see all boards be a part of this process,” said longtime board member George Munchus. “It seems to me that out of an eight-member council there are some council members, myself in particular, who are not part of these deliberations,” he said.

Tereshia Huffman, the board president, then stepped in to say she tried to call Munchus to let him know of Johnson’s decision to retire last week, but got no answer.

Munchus said he learned of Johnson’s exit not from Huffman but from gossip that began to spread by Friday afternoon.

“You choose to be excluded,” Huffman said.

– Wow, wow, wow, answered Munchus. “You mean you left me a message? I did not understand your message, Madam President.”

Board members Lucien Blankenship and Mashonda Taylor joined Munchus in voting against the resolution to accept Johnson’s retirement and begin a national search for his replacement.

“There should have been a board meeting to discuss this among all the board members, and not what I call the ‘favorite five,’ which consists of the executive committee,” Munchus told AL.com.

Huffman, speaking to the media, announced that Johnson was out and that the board would begin a national search.

William Muhammad, a Birmingham resident and former water board member, spoke during the public comment period at today’s meeting and asked if the board was acting in secret.

“Was he fired? I demand transparency,” he said. “And who decided he was going to retire?”

Muhammad noted a previous policy that required employees to give 30 days’ notice of retirement. He also requested a copy of Johnson’s performance evaluation.

No one answered Muhammad’s questions.

In December, the Birmingham Water Works Employees’ Association issued a vote of no confidence in management and detailed several grievances about unfairness in discipline, promotions and pay.

The leadership changes come just a week after council members voted to spend $69,000 on a survey to understand the public’s perception of the water works. This is part of an initiative, proposed by Huffman, to create an “image improvement plan”.

Johnson joined Water Works in 2008 as deputy general manager of finance and administration. A certified public accountant, Johnson previously served as director of finance for the City of Birmingham. He is also a retired Marine Corps Colonel with over 26 years of active duty and reserve military service.

For many years, Water Works ranked last or near the bottom for customer satisfaction in JD Power surveys among peer utilities.

While Johnson’s departure represents a major change on the executive side, criticism of the board members’ leadership is long-standing and dates back decades.

Long the source of criticism over its spending, large consultants, annual rate increases, Water Works in 2022 has resurfaced as the subject of public scrutiny over billing issues such as multiple bills and overestimated meter charges.

Council attorney Mark Parnell urged members to be cautious when discussing the issue.

“I would caution everyone to treat this article as we treat all personnel articles to respect the employee’s privacy, and I would encourage all directors to be careful about the statements you make in public,” he said. “If you want to have one-on-one conversations with me, I’d be happy to do that.”

Huffman and Vice President Butch Burbage read prepared statements to the press after the meeting. Neither took any questions.

“We wish him well in his future endeavors,” Huffman said of Johnson. “The job he had was not an easy one. We are limited in what we can say about Mr. Johnson and his family, but we wish him well and at this time I want to make that clear.”

Huffman said he would recommend a thorough review of the entire agency.

“We owe it to our 700,000 customers and 600 employees that we not only recognize the problems and weaknesses, but make the necessary changes to address them as we look to the future,” she said. “The board has committed to using this time to review our entire organization from top to bottom and make decisions about our strategy and structure to ensure we take Birmingham Water Works forward. There are no further comments at this time.”