Utility board fires general manager

Posted by matsublog

Posted: June 16, 2009 - 3:57 pm

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The Matanuska Electric Association board voted to fire 14-year general manager Wayne Carmony at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon.

The move came after several months of clashes between the board and Carmony, during which the board limited Carmony’s ability to speak about board actions and barred him from hiring or firing executives at the cooperative. The board also instructed Carmony to fire two MEA executives, former assistant general manager Tuckerman Babcock and former Information Technology director Bruce Scott.

The board is led by a new majority who has been critical of the way Carmony runs the cooperative. It voted in April to begin the process of terminating Carmony. Board attorney Robin Brena and Carmony have since been negotiating over a severance package.

But according to a copy of the severance proposal Carmony e-mailed last week to the roughly 125 people who work at MEA, the board wanted Carmony to agree to a gag order that would have prevented him from speaking about how the utility is run. It would also have prevented him from being involved in lawsuits against the company.

In a letter sent to board members and MEA employees Friday, Carmony asked the board to reconsider and either to keep him on as general manager or “simply write me a check for what I am owed and we separate.”

The board voted 5-2 Tuesday to withdraw from negotiations, fire him “with cause” and place him on immediate administrative leave until the board takes further action. The board did not state the cause for Carmony’s termination.

The board is already searching for an interim general manager. Assistant general manager Don Zoerb will fill in as acting manager until one is found.
Look for more information in tomorrow's Mat-Su section.

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