NEW ORLEANS – The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans is accepting applications from New Orleans residents interested in serving on its Board of Directors.
There are currently three vacancies on the board.
The board is comprised of eleven members, eight of which are residents appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council from a list of nominees submitted by the S&WB Selection Committee.
Serving on the board will likely be no easy task, as the Sewerage and Water Board has come under fire over the past six weeks for a series of missteps.
A heavy rain event on Aug. 5 caused widespread flooding in several New Orleans neighborhoods. The Sewerage and Water Board initially claimed that the drainage system (pumps and the turbines that power the pumps) was working at full capacity, but officials later retracted that statement when it was learned that 17 pumps were not functioning during the flood.
The failure prompted the termination of several S&WB employees, as well as the early retirement of its director, Cedric Grant.
A few days later, a fire at the only functioning turbine left the city vulnerable to flooding as tropical systems came to the area during the height of hurricane season.
The city has brought in an emergency interim management team to oversee the department while repairs continue on the drainage pumps and turbines.
This week, the city confirmed that the Sewerage and Water Board has double-billed almost 5,000 customers due to a “shortage of meter-reading personnel and a high turnover rate in the department.”
Eligibility, Professional Qualifications and Experience Requirements
The term of office for members appointed to the board is four years. Additionally, a member shall serve no more than two consecutive terms of office.
Each nominee must be a registered voter in Orleans Parish and must have lived in Orleans Parish for two years before his or her appointment. Applicants for the Council District vacancies must reside in the City Council District for which he or she applied. The Consumer Advocacy nominees may reside anywhere in Orleans Parish.
Each nominee must have experience in architecture, environmental quality, finance, accounting, business administration, engineering, law, public health, urban planning, facilities management, public administration, science, construction, business management, community or consumer advocacy, or other pertinent disciplines.
Two of the appointed members shall be consumer advocates with community advocacy or consumer protection experience or expertise in a related field.
If appointed as a board member, you must comply with all ethical requirements, including but not limited to the filing of financial statements.
Application Process
Responses should include a detailed resume or curriculum vitae for the prospective board member, and contain an affidavit of the applicant verifying that he or she possesses the eligibility requirements, professional qualifications, and experience as outlined above to serve as a member of the board.
Interested parties may submit an application to Interim Executive Director at S&WB central office (625 St. Joseph St., New Orleans, LA 70165). If applicants have any questions or concerns, contact the Interim Executive Director’s office at (504) 585-2190 or by email to ProspectiveBoardMemberApplications@swbno.org. The deadline for receiving applications is the close of business on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017.
