SOUTH HADLEY — Anne Awad, chairwoman of the South Hadley Electric Light Department, announced Wednesday night that the board of commissioners voted in executive session last month not to negotiate a new contract with long-time manager Wayne Doerpholz.
Doerpholz’s current contract will expire at the end of May at which point his association with the utility will end, Awad said.
The three-member board Wednesday reviewed a job description for the position that Awad said would be posted in the near future, though she did not specify a date. Awad has been serving as acting manager since Doerpholz was placed on paid administrative leave last fall after being named in a federal whistleblower lawsuit against the utility alleging that he permitted a pattern of workplace bullying and retaliation to persist, thereby creating an unsafe work environment.
A call to Doerpholz seeking comment was not returned Wednesday night.
Among the responsibilities listed in the job description are that the successful candidate will “manage the overall operation of the town’s electric power supply on a daily basis.” The manager will also purchase “electric power supply contracts from outside companies.”
The board of commissioners, which met for the last time before the town election April 12 when the board will expand from three to five members, discussed whether having a degree in electrical engineering should be a requirement for applicants.
Awad said the trend in utilities is away from requiring managers to be engineers themselves and toward people with business experience specializing in the operation of public utilities.
The three-page job description lists the minimal qualifications as a bachelor of science degree in “electrical engineering or business or other relevant BA/BS degree from an accredited institution.”
The job description the commissioners discussed on Tuesday did not include a salary range for a new manager.
The board voted last month to terminate Doerpholz’s current contract which expired in 2009 but which automatically renewed every year since based on a so-called “evergreen clause.” Under that contract, Doerpholz had accrued 3,593 hours of sick leave, 3,248 hours of vacation time and 80 hours of personal time, which, at his current rate of pay, amounts to $476,580.
Awad has said previously that the board’s lawyer is negotiating a settlement with a lawyer for Doerpholz.
Doerpholz, who started work at the utility as a 15-year-old around 1970, sweeping floors and reading meters, and worked his way up to manager 33 years ago, was being paid an annual salary of just over $140,000.
Eric Goldscheider can be reached at eric.goldscheider@gmail.com.