" If the council had asked me the question.............."

Patten: Administration delayed raising sewer rates until after election
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By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Jan 06, 2010 @ 08:55 PM
Last update Jan 06, 2010 @ 10:41 PM
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FALL RIVER — Shortly before former Mayor Robert Correia submitted his fiscal 2010 budget on June 1, the decision was made not to increase the sewer rates until after the November election, despite a projected deficit of “millions,” city officials said.
They confirmed what Dan Patten — the city treasurer/financial services director fired by Mayor Will Flanagan — said in an interview Wednesday.
The prior administration took no action to balance budget expenses and revenues while knowing the state Department of Revenue would not certify the tax rate until the city implemented sewer rate increases to balance it, Patten said.
Flanagan fired Patten on his first full day in office Tuesday, citing the projected $3.5 million sewer enterprise deficit for fiscal 2009 and 2010 as the prime reasons. All but $603,000 would be a shortfall this fiscal year ending June 30.
Flanagan the same day also fired longtime Correia staffers, Jeffrey Santos and Kathleen Edwards, whom Correia appointed the past two months to high-paying jobs with long-term contracts in the Community Development Agency.
Patten, answering questions about the sewer deficit, stated at the outset he understood the political conditions under which he was fired.
“It’s a mayor’s decision which people they want to keep and which they want to let go,” Patten said. “I’ve worked for eight mayors and been lucky up to this point that I’ve kept my job.”
The New Bedford resident worked for 20 years in that city’s mayor’s office, auditor’s office and for a decade as its treasurer before former Mayor Edward M. Lambert Jr. hired him on Jan. 8, 2007.
The job paid $94,000, although Patten was one of many city workers who accepted an 8 percent pay cut to balance this year’s budget.
He did not have a contract, and along with Santos and Edwards will receive any vacation and related time owed.
Patten told the City Council a week ago that budget revenues were “overstated” after Flanagan announced he wanted answers from Patten and Director of Public Utilities Terry Sullivan about the huge deficit left unreconciled.
On the same day, Sullivan said he had recommended a significant rate increase to Correia in May.
Yesterday, city officials supplied a May 21 e-mail that Patten sent to Correia, City Administrator Adam Chapdelaine, Auditor Kevin Almeida and Santos, an administrative aide to Correia for more than 30 years.
The e-mail refers to the city not receiving DOR certification of its tax rate unless sewer fees were substantially increased. Patten detailed what he said was the city’s “back-up plan” to set the rate and issue end-of-year tax bills.
“Mayor Correia said he was going to raise the rates in November, which was after the election,” Patten said in the most specific statement of how the prior administration was planned to proceed.
Correia lost his office in the preliminary Sept. 15 election, and Flanagan subsequently defeated City Councilor Cathy Ann Viveiros on Nov. 3.
Correia declined several requests for interviews during his final days in office. He left the area Sunday for Florida.
Seven months ago and shortly before the City Council began to deliberate the new budget, Patten e-mailed Correia and his administrators that an increase was necessary.
“Sewer requires a rate increase or the tax recap will not be approved in December (by the DOR) and tax bills will not be mailed,” says the May 21 e-mail Chapdelaine provided upon request.
Patten, based upon information from Sullivan, wrote that “revenues for 2009 have been declining, based on usage, from $13.9 million to $13.7 million to $12.8 million. The 2010 budget is based on revenues of $15.8 million.”
Patten said revenues this year and last year included the controversial stormwater fees. Those amounted to about $5 million, Sullivan said.
“We were concerned because revenues were coming in lower than projected, and they were continuing to decline,” Patten said during Wednesday’s interview.
Chapdelaine concurred that Patten, before the budget ratification, told the administration the deficit could be $3 million based on the prior year. He agreed the message was the city “could not send out tax bills unless we do something.”
Sullivan, in a Nov. 14 memo he prepared for the mayoral transition, wrote that sewer revenue collection was 10 percent behind what was budgeted for the first four months of the year. The shortfall was in the range of $1.6 million.
Flanagan said this week he is prepared to raise the rates. “We’re working on a solution, which we should have by the end of the week. There does have to be a substantial alteration or increase to the sewer rate structure,” Chapdelaine said.
That change would require City Council approval.
After several city councilors recently said they were shocked over the magnitude of the sewer deficit, Patten answered yesterday why they were not made aware of the $3 million projected gap.
“If the council had asked me the question, if had to give an answer, I would not have lied to them. I would have told them the revenues are going to come in short, and we would require a combination of rate increases and budget cuts,” Patten said.
Patten said he gave that information to Flanagan during a recent transition meeting that included other administrators.
“He didn’t think it was good enough,” Patten said after being fired.
Flanagan said he plans to conduct a national search for a chief financial officer, calling it “probably one of the most important positions within city government.”
He said he did not have plans to remove any other municipal employees.
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.

I'm kind of amazed right now. Not at the fact former mayor Correia would be capable of such a thing, because he did nothing since day 1 in office but demonstrate clearly he was capable of such consummate piggery. No, I'm amazed that after all the years I worked for many municipalities, and after all the years I thought I had seen shocking things, this might be the worst, and trust me, I've worked to end County government and I thought THAT was the worst I've seen. This is far, far worse.
But what I'm more amazed than anything else is the profound and stunning sadness I feel right now. I really do. I assumed there would be some sordid tale involved in how the City was being run, but this................this was, frankly, unimaginable to me, and I've spent many nights typing here attacking Correia. This is stunning to a state of disbelief!
Honestly, the article speaks for itself. I actually have to thank Mr. Patten for coming clean about what really happened. We all should, because I have doubts the truth would ever have come out of the mouths of the Public Utilities Director, the City Auditor or that weasel Chapdelaine. They knew, sold you and I down the River of Sewerage for a pay check, and all I can think is God knows what else is hiding in the City's financial dealings and elsewhere based on Correia's attitude of win the election at all costs. I'm a little disappointed we didn't hear all this from Mayor Flanagan as well.

Mayor Flanagan, all your top financial management people knew about this problem, and said nothing. Your Director of Public Utilities knew, and said nothing. Your City Administrator knew, and said nothing. This was a dirty conspiracy by a collection of cowardly employees, because I refuse to call any of them public servants. They are just like their old boss in that they all made it clear they had only their own welfare in mind at all times. No where was there any concern for the City and it's welfare, which each and every one of these people took a solemn and sworn oath to  protect from precisely the type of politicly based deception in which they willingly participated. You MUST replace them all. It's no longer a situation you can accept. In fact, unless they are ALL gone within the end of your first year in office, you will share in the shameful actions they perpitrated upon the City and it's citizens. You are left with no other choice, I, for one, cannot cut you any slack on this one because you were just sworn in. However, I have a funny feeling what I suggested a few sentences ago has already been planned. At least I hope so. Cleanse this City from any trace of that swine Correia and all those who helped him shame this City.  The irony of "Pride City Wide" has reached all new , and very disturbing depths, because there is nothing  "of the heights" in this sordid mess.

What may have been the worst thing? THAT statement. That poisonous, hedious statement of explanation of why Mr. Patten failed to inform the City Council, and thereby, the citizens of Fall River of this whole regrettable affair.

"If the council had asked me the question, if had to give an answer, I would not have lied to them. I would have told them the revenues are going to come in short, and we would require a combination of rate increases and budget cuts,” Patten said.

"If I... HAD...to give an answer." Public servants, real public servants would never have allowed themselves to be in that position to begin with.

Note to Fall River - if your employees can't be trusted to live up to their oaths of office, what's the point?! This entire City needs to do some soul searching!