Citing budgetary concerns, the Oak Bluffs wastewater commission voted Thursday to eliminate plant manager Joe Alosso’s position.
“It wasn’t a performance-based decision. It was really a financial decision,” wastewater commissioner Gail Barmakian said Saturday, adding that the town needs to cut costs and she preferred not to raise rates for wastewater users.
The board voted 2-1 in favor of eliminating the position, which will save the town between $68,000 and $70,000 a year, Ms. Barmakian said. The decision is scheduled to go into effect in late February.
Commissioner Bob Iadicicco did not vote in favor of the decision.
Ms. Barmakian said she did research that showed that most towns combine the roles of manager and chief operator, and that the functions could “easily be handled” by plant operator Jim Montieth and other staff.
“We just couldn’t afford the luxury of having a separate plant manager anymore,” Ms. Barmakian said.
In Edgartown, where Mr. Alosso is wastewater superintendent, an investigation into fraud at the plant criticized him for using an “honor system” to manage the logging of sewage, and a “lack of managerial control and oversight.”
Mr. Alosso declined comment at this time.
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