Newly elected school board president, Josephine Posti is a familiar face on the news. This was on WTAE-TV news recently. I included the comments in the link. I find comments most interesting when reading news articles online. Watch the video to draw you own conclusions.
Water Company Defends Hydrants Used In Baldwin Firefight
Don't think it was handled well from a PR standpoint....basic communications behavior was like that in SB meetings when the public pose questions and request information. But this was not a SB meeting situation.
ReplyDeleteI believe Ms. Posti could have politely explained that while PAWC is a public company, it is not a public utility or governmental agency and therefore not subject to the Open Records or Right To Know Act...that PAWC is a subsidiary of a NYSE parent American Water Works Co., Inc. (AWK), and that the privacy of internal inspection reports is a policy of the parent company endorsed by its board of directors. It would have been far better than just plain "No", and when pressed, "You heard the answer!".
The PAWC website bears reading and consideration here, particularly under the homepage tab "Overview" and the dropdown heading "Stakeholder Engagement". Note that "Key Stakeholder Groups" include the media. Also relevant is PAWC's "Our Customer Charter" which appears with the annual water quality Report we receive that states "We Will + partner with our customers, + treat them with dignity and respect, + enhance their quality of life, + earn their loyalty, + exceed their expectations ". Yeah..sure..right.
Perhaps a regulatory agency will demand the records and/or an affected customer lawsuit will in discovery.
Bill Lewis