Members of the Birmingham Water Works Board are united and on the defensive as a bill to snatch away their power heads to the state senate floor.

The board Wednesday afternoon spent the first 90 minutes of a marathon meeting with speeches defending the quality of the utility, its management and board chair.

Board members and speakers took turns attacking pending legislation to wipe clean the current board and snatch Birmingham’s oversight in favor of regional authority dominated by the surrounding areas and suburbs. The bill could be voted on as early as Thursday and then head to the House.

“You’ve got one of the best boards involved that you’ve ever had at this facility,” said board vice chairman Butch Burbage, a member from Shelby County.

Burbage, who also appeared before a senate committee hearing about the bill Tuesday, restated his arguments that the board was moving in the right direction with recent improvements.

State Senator Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, introduced the bill, which was co-sponsored by fellow Republicans Sen. Jabo Waggoner and Sen. Shay Shelnutt.

“This is not an easy fix to change on a dime,” Burbage said. “It takes some time to change those types of things.”

Board members also defended chairwoman Tereshia Huffman against a recent state ethics complaint that accuses her of violating conflict of interest rules when supporting water works grants.

Huffman has denied any wrongdoing.

“At the end of the day, my integrity will always preserve me,” she said.

Members derided the filing as a politically motivated conspiracy from an unnamed disgruntled employee.

“There is absolutely no merit to this complaint,” said board member Dalton NeSmith, an attorney from Blount County. “It is trying to ruin your reputation or your name. I think it was dirty politics.”

Several board members hinted that they knew some of those behind the complaint and vowed to find the others.

“At some point in time we’re going to find out who wrote this complaint,” Nesmith said. “That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Nesmith said Huffman has championed ethics on the board, including the board’s ethics policy and pledge.

That same pledge was also the source of a lawsuit from former board member George Munchus, who sued and accused Huffman and the board of withholding his stipend for refusing to sign the policy with language that he considered to be a ‘loyalty pledge.’

That lawsuit was dismissed in Jefferson County court and is being appealed to the state supreme court.

“I hope they come forward,” Huffman said of the alleged whistleblower. “We will find out their name later.”

However, while board members assailed the ethics complaint and the complainant, state law offers some protection to whistleblowers.

Section 36-25-24 of the Alabama Code prohibits employers from retaliating against public employees who in good faith report violations. On the other hand, supervisors are allowed to file civil action against employees who file reports without good faith.

Board member Larry Ward also defended Huffman.

“It ain’t fair, but there’s not a lot in life that is,” he said.

Ward went on to laud the board for its financial management and infrastructure improvements. Ward said the utility has been unfairly characterized in the press, including over its recent controversial public comment policy.

“I am extremely disappointed in the media this time,” said Ward, adding a few personal insults, directed at AL.com columnist John Archibald. “What we see is just not the way it was presented.”

The policy, which reduced speaking time from three minutes to two minutes, and which requires advance notice to appear before the board, created a firestorm just days before the state legislation was filed. While the board officially paused the policy Wednesday, Huffman and others still defended it.

“It was never an intent to restrict anyone’s voices,” Huffman said. “That policy was for us to get your information in advance and for us to come to you.”

On the contrary, Huffman assailed the proposed legislation as the real attack on the public. Huffman said she hoped public ire against the bill would be as strong as it was against the speaker’s policy.

Others who spoke in support of the board included Birmingham Councilman J.T. Moore and Derrick Maye, chairman of the Water Works Employee Association.

Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson also urged the board committee to permanently reinstate their previous comment policy. Tyson was a vocal critic of the new public comment policy.

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