Edgartown Weighs Merits of Water Contract Request

By JAMES KINSELLA

Edgartown water superintendent Fred Domont earlier this year sought
a salary of $100,000, but saw his request rejected by the board of
selectmen.

The Edgartown board of water commissioners, the elected board to
which Mr. Domont reports, backed the salary request, which would have
represented an increase of almost 40 per cent from his current pay.

The selectmen, however, declined to approve the request. At the
April 11 annual town meeting, Edgartown residents are scheduled to vote
on an annual town budget that lists Mr. Domont's salary at
$72,238.

Meeting participants also are scheduled to vote on a proposed cost
of living adjustment that would increase the salary of town employees,
including Mr. Domont, by another 4.2 per cent. That possible increase,
and a $1,450 stipend for longevity, would increase his salary in the
coming fiscal year to $76,723, according to Edgartown personnel board
figures.

Mr. Domont said Wednesday that his experience, his licenses and the
salaries provided to other water supervisors on Martha's Vineyard
qualify him for a higher salary and for a management contract.

The question of fair compensation for water works supervisors on the
Island has been in the spotlight since the Tisbury selectmen two weeks
ago challenged the legality of the multi-year contracts for the
supervisors of the Oak Bluffs and Tisbury water systems. The selectmen
raised concerns about the high-priced compensation packages and about
the supervisors working under contract rather than the town personnel
bylaw.

Deacon Perrotta, the water superintendent for both the Oak Bluffs
Water District and the Tisbury Water Works, receives a combined annual
salary from the two districts of $100,000. So does Lois Norton, the
water systems administrator for both operations.

A survey by the Vineyard Gazette of nine water operations on the
Cape and Islands (treating the Tisbury and Oak Bluffs operations as a
combined operation) showed that Mr. Perrotta and Ms. Norton received the
highest salaries of any water supervisor.

Both Ms. Norton and Mr. Perrotta work under management contracts,
unlike Mr. Domont, whose position as a department head is included under
the Edgartown personnel bylaw.

The Tisbury board of selectmen recently said they were unaware of
the size of the salaries paid to Mr. Perrotta and Ms. Norton. Under the
contracts, Tisbury and Oak Bluffs each contribute $50,000 to each
salary.

The chairman of the Tisbury board of selectmen, Raymond LaPorte,
said the contract, which was signed by the Tisbury board of water
commissioners, was unenforceable. The selectmen say they, not the
commissioners, have the authority to determine the terms of employment
of water works employees. The Tisbury water commissioners have referred
the matter to their attorney for review.

The Tisbury selectmen said the salaries were drawn to their
attention by an inquiry about a month ago from the town of Edgartown
about water department salaries. Mr. Domont has said that neither he nor
any employee of the Edgartown water department made that inquiry.

Mr. Domont and the Edgartown water commissioners discussed his
proposed $100,000 salary in an executive session last Nov. 29.

The commissioners then supported the salary request before the board
of selectmen on Jan. 3 as part of a proposed $1,124,497 annual budget
request for the water department.

According to the minutes of that Jan. 3 meeting with the selectmen,
the chairman of the water commissioners, Robert L. Burnham, said the
commissioners still were working on the budget and planned to resolve
salary proposals in executive session.

But the chairman of the board of selectmen, Arthur Smadbeck,
questioned whether such a discussion in executive session would be
legal. Town administrator Pamela Dolby said she had discussed the issue
with town counsel, who had informed her that the law would prohibit such
a discussion in executive session.

Selectman Margaret E. Serpa said the water commissioners should go
through the personnel board on the issue and that she favored using
current personnel board figures for water department salaries.

Mr. Smadbeck agreed. According to the minutes, he said that "a
30 per cent to 40 per cent increase in salary has to be worked out by
the personnel board, that the water commission cannot unilaterally take
it out of the jurisdiction of the personnel board."

Based on the water department budget drafted last December, only Mr.
Domont's proposed salary increase would fall into that range among
the water department employees.

Since that Jan. 3 meeting, the water commissioners have yet to meet
with the personnel board on any water department salary issues.

Water commissioner William R. Erickson said Wednesday that the
proposed salary was fair compensation for Mr. Domont. Mr. Erickson said
the water commission needs to compensate Mr. Domont for the higher cost
of living on the Vineyard. Also, should Mr. Domont leave, Mr. Erickson
said the commission would have to offer a salary in the $100,000 range
to attract a comparable supervisor.

But water commissioner John S. Lovewell was less supportive. While
he said Wednesday that he went along with his fellow water commissioners
on this issue, he also said he believes Mr. Domont is paid plenty at his
current salary.

Mr. Lovewell also said the commissioners and Mr. Domont have yet to
discuss a contract for the supervisor in any detail. "The contract
was not the issue," Mr. Lovewell said. "The money was the
issue."

Robert Burnham, chairman of the water commission, was off-Island
this week and could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Erickson said Wednesday the water commissioners have not worked
out what action they'll take in the future regarding increases in
Mr. Domont's salary.

Mr. Domont has said a contract would be advantageous both to the
Edgartown board of water commissioners and to him.

While Mr. Domont acknowledged that a contract likely would give him
more protection, he also said it could be structured to give him
incentives for better performance and restrict compensation for less
satisfactory performance.

He said he would like to receive a higher salary for a number of
reasons: that he is one of the most experienced water superintendents on
the Cape and Islands; that he has licenses to run any water operation in
the state; and that he has 28 years of experience in the water field.

Further, he said he essentially is running three companies for the
town: a municipal water supply, a construction company and a capital
projects company.

At present, Mr. Domont said, his compensation is comparable to 1956
levels, adjusted for inflation. Yet, he said, the amount of work and
required training and education is much higher.

"You have to look at what the economy is," Mr. Domont
said about the cost of living on the Vineyard. "Traditionally, the
Vineyard always paid less and cost more. Maybe someday, we'll
break even."