Because allegations of financial mismanagement at the Prichard Water Works and Sewer Board have become a criminal investigation, board members chose not to discuss the matter publicly. Instead, board members talked about one another at their monthly meeting on Monday.
) - Because allegations of financial mismanagement at the Prichard Water Works and Sewer Board have become a criminal investigation, board members chose not to discuss the matter publicly.Board members John Johnson Jr. and Cherry Doyle accused board Chairman Russell Heidelburg of dishonesty and urged new leadership.
At the behest of Johnson or Doyle, a sheriff’s deputy escorted two residents out of the meeting, and shouting could be heard from behind a closed door when the board met in executive session at the end of the meeting. In addition, Mobile County prosecutors allege that the utility, though those credit card charges, paid for building materials that the water system never received.
Deep divisions on the five-member board were front and center on Monday. Board members could not agree even on such mundane tasks as approving minutes from previous meetings. Prichard Mayor Jimmie Gardner, who has no direct role in the independent utility, defended Heidelburg. He said the board should find more consensus.