The executive revolving door at the Atlantic City Water Company spins again.
Another questionable appointment at the top of the Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority (AC MUA), better known as the water company.
According to former MUA official, John Devlin, the new water boss is India Still. Like her predecessor’s, Ms. Still doesn’t have the required experience for the job. The position really needs a highly qualified water operator with a Level-4 license.
Devlin: India Still is grossly incompetent to be an Executive Director of MUA.
ACMUA doesn’t comply with state licensing requirements. AC must pay outside contractors with required licenses to legally operate the facility.
On January 5, 2024, Atlantic City announced the city’s drinking water was contaminated. At least three days of water filled with contaminants.
How did it happen? We asked a former MUA official, John Devlin:
- Faulty, old equipment in need of replacement.
- Operator error. Human mistake.
- Lack of proper management oversight.
- Un-qualified leadership.
The water quality was so bad, the city was forced to issue a ‘boil water’ alert. Some questioned the long delay before MUA’s Hill and AC Mayor Small announced the ‘boil water’ safety warning.
The MUA Executive Director at the time was Michael Armstrong. During the water crisis, Armstrong claimed to be feeling ‘a bit under the weather’ according to Hill.
MUA Chairman Gary Hill was also missing in action during the crisis.
Rather than interrupt his tropical vacation and attend to the emergency, Hill posted pics with husband and former Atlantic City councilman, John Schultz.
John Schultz once avoided prison in a sex blackmail case that involved a secretly recorded video, a Baptist minister and a hooker in a motel room. But the former Atlantic City Councilman did get sent to prison for another secret recording: one made by a fellow co-owner of a Boardwalk rolling chair company that kept two sets of books to hide money from the Internal Revenue Service. Read more.
Will ACMUA Chairman / socialite Gary Hill issue an apology? Will Hill explain how this will never happen again?
Atlantic City Taxpayer Org.
Read More: Politically Connected Person Is New Atlantic City, NJ MUA Boss.
ATLANTIC CITY MUNICIPAL UTILITIES AUTHORITY
TRANSCRIPT of meeting January 17, 2024, 10am.
Gary Hill: Mr. Armstrong was not available here. He was available the entire time via phone. He was not feeling very well. I was out of the country. However, I was in close contact with Ms. Still in particular and other people and Mr. Armstrong when I got back into the country, and I know that there was a lot of things going on at that time, but I really believe that they handled everything exceedingly professional. That is why we have professional leaders as our team. Board members are not involved in solving those problems. We need to be aware of those problems, of course, especially for the community, which we were. And I know there’s always ways for us to improve things, like communications, and we’ll work on that in the future for sure.
Political Patronage? Elected officials often reward top supporters with well-paid positions. A big thank you to people who help them win and maintain office.
Hill is beloved and well-protected by those who benefit from his fundraising efforts.
City Hall Insider.
It all starts with leadership. That failed leadership starts with good ol’ mayor Small. A child could run the city better. Yet, people keep voting for the same useless politicians. Keep at it.