Water bombshell

Council and senior city staff woke up this morning to an explosive email sitting in their inboxes. A former staffer is making some very serious claims about the city's water and wastewater department.

Abdul Khan, who worked as the city’s Director of Water and Wastewater Treatment from May 2005 until June 2009, alleges that is former department is withholding crucial information, endangering public health and misusing city money. Read the web story here.

Here are the first two paragraphs of Khan's email:

Subject: Water and Wastewater Division – Public Right to Know

"Your Worship Mayor Eisenberger and Respected Members of the Council

I have had the privilege of serving the residents of the City of
Hamilton as Director of Water and Wastewater Treatment from May 2005
until my termination from service in June 2009 under the pretext of
restructuring.   However, I am confident that my removal was a
consequence of my conscientiousness that compelled me to resist
unscrupulous endeavors and raise controversial issues to the City’s
management that I believed to be detrimental to and against the
interests of the residents of Hamilton.

I had preferred to raise the issues discussed below to your attention
in person as a delegation to the council, but despite my requests to
the clerk over the past three months, I still await a date.  Since I
have already wasted considerable time in first pursuing alternate
courses of accountability and secondly in waiting for a date to
present the issues to your attention, I resort to writing this letter
to you, copying it to various concerned departments, offices,
authorities and the media within the city of Hamilton, who I believe
would benefit from perusing this letter."

That alone is enough to raise some serious alarm bells in the backrooms of city hall. But add claims about money mismanagement, possible health risks and purposely withholding information, and we have the beginnings of a water-gate on our hands.

This is all coming on the same day that council will officially name their new Integrity Commissioner. At tonight's meeting' they'll also determine whether Councillor Terry Whitehead's conduct should be investigated by the incoming commish.

Interesting day at city hall, to say the least.

****

UPDATE: Here is the Mayor's release from this afternoon:

Dear Council Colleagues:

The allegations concerning the City's Water and Wastewater Division are serious and will be taken seriously.

 

Most importantly, let me start by assuring Council that public safety and public trust in our water supply is paramount and Lynden’s water supply was never in jeopardy or compromised.  Dr. Richardson will reinforce this at Council tonight and staff will provide further details this evening in public session.  To be absolutely clear the City meets all of the Ministry of Environment drinking water regulations and standards.

 

We will have the opportunity to deal with this and other concerns raised in the e-mail at tonight's Council meeting.

 

I will be putting forward a motion to move this item from correspondence to be discussed prior to Item 6.7, Committee of the Whole Report 09-034, on the agenda.

 

The allegations of the mismanagement of City funds are serious and Council tonight will have the opportunity to provide direction on matters to be referred for investigation. Peter Barkwell will lay out recommendations to Council during the in-camera portion of tonight's meeting.

 

As senior staff have been named in the allegations, myself and Peter Barkwell will act as the official spokespeople on behalf of the City.

 

See you tonight,

Fred

Comments

[craig duvall]

This all seems to be no surprise to me.It seems no city or town officials want to know the truth.I am having same problem with elected officials in Haldimand County.What the hell are we electing these days.I really feel an impeachment law should start happning here.

[Mark-Alan Whittle]

After contacting my Alderman Scott Duvall to voice my concerns over these disturbing allegations, this is what he had to say about it (below the hash mark).

Massive firings should be the result, after a outside forensic auditors team roots out the corruption from within.
--
Hi Mark

Thanks for your email and concerns.

I can tell you Councillors are concerned of these serious allegations and will be questioning Staff and will work out a strategy of an investigation.

As we just received this, time will be needed for answers.

It seems everyday I wake up, a new bad eye for Hamilton. It is frustrating not only for the residents but Council too.

Wish you and your family a safe and Merry Christmas.

Scott

[Tom Robertson]

If I was the Integrity Commissioner who is going to be named tonight I would quickly call the city and withdraw my application for the job. Councllors and the Mayor have to realize the buck stops with them and have to take full responsibility for the messes going on within the city. I'm sure they will be blaming staff but not fire anyone with just cause and no severance.

[craig duvall]

talk talk talk, cheap word i would say, seems they are allways sorry

[Chris]

This is just the tip of the iceberg....let's get an audit done...there is misuse of our tax dollars at every level in this city.

In order to hide it they continually raise our taxes, apply new surcharges...

We need more accountability from this mayor and council

Call in the provincial auditor general...and how about getting our only newspaper and tv station to do some real investigative reporting instead of a quick story and then on to some thing else.

[Burke Austin]

Wow folks, I just downloaded the 19 page e-mail and this is explosive stuff. And you know what I beleive every word this man is saying. Our group has been dealing with Mr. Harnum and his crew for a couple of years now about the sludge incinerator they wants build on Woodward Ave. and it has been like pulling teeth. They not only want to hide things from the public but hide things from Council as well, that spells trouble, when accountability fails, what happens, according to Mr. Khan "The projected rates curve suggest that the future rates would be unsustainable and unaffordable; potentially making wastewater services in Hamilton the most expensive in Canada"
A great palce to raise a family, to do business, NOT

[WRCU2]

Nice to see our media perform some dredging
so long as IT doesn't lead to dragging the
harbour to uncover the mess. We wouldn't
want to disturb Randle Reef's rehab.

Thanks for sharing Emma and John.

[GWC]

Abdul Khan for mayor thats what i think

[Michelle Hruschka]

Mr Khan is a hero in my books and we, in the community must stand behind him.

Let us see the spin in the next few days, no accountability, no transparency.

How can we trust anything anymore?

[Michelle Hruschka]

Check this out:

http://www.thehamiltonian.net/2009/12/abdul-khan-in-his-own-words.html#comments

[WRCU2]

I am happy to report that Cal DiFalco has
just done an interview with Mr. Abdul Kahn:

http://www.thehamiltonian.net/2009/12/abdul-khan-in-his-own-words.html

[sanity]

in your recent report 'Khan claims he raised concerns in spring' - there is an option. in the City interview process,interviewers are provided questionnaire and they ask questions from that and generally record the answers provided in there. now if khan claims that he mentioned his sewage plant concerns during the interview then there are chances that it may be recorded on the questionnaire. why not Spectator FOI the questionnaires

[Mark-Alan Whittle]

Good idea sanity, anyone can file an FOI and it only cost's five bucks. Problem is, it will get stone-walled by the clerks department. I figure all that paperwork has been shredded and doesn't exist anymore.