James Island PSD Hires Consultant for Workplace Review
The Post and Courier
Five months after anonymous letters surfaced alleging racial discrimination within the James Island Public Service District, commissioners have decided to hire a local consulting firm to interview all 116 district employees about the workplace environment.
The decision to hire a consultant came after two anonymous letters were sent to commissioners in July and August alleging that Wastewater Superintendent Kristen Champagne, who is white, treated black employees unfairly. No one has filed a formal complaint with the district's Human Resources Department, and no one has come forth to take responsibility for writing the letters, officials said.
The commission discussed the letters at length in public meetings and heard a report of an internal investigation that cleared Champagne of any misconduct. Commissioners heard reports of interviews with current wastewater employees, none of whom stated that Champagne had discriminated against them.
Champagne has declined requests for interviews.
The cost for the firm, Joan K. Ustin & Associates LLC, to interview the district employees will be $21,750, nearly double the lowest bid for the work but less than three other bids.
The commission voted 4-2 Monday to hire the firm. Commissioner Donald Hollingsworth and Chairman Rod Welch voted against the move because of the cost. Commissioner Eugene Platt abstained from voting.
Commissioners did not publicly say why they did not go with the lowest bidder.
Commissioner Inez Brown-Crouch said Ustin & Associates will meet with the district's administrative committee next week about a time line for the employee interviews. Brown-Crouch said it will take four to six weeks to complete the work.
Some commissioners said that an internal investigation cannot be neutral and that employees might have felt uncomfortable talking with another employee about the workplace. These sentiments were echoed by local black church leaders and Dot Scott, president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Scott told commissioners that employees feared they would lose their jobs if they came forward with complaints.
The commission voted 5-2 in August to hire an outside agency to review the entire district, with Welch and Hollingsworth voting against it.
Soon after the vote, Champagne filed a lawsuit against the district, claiming it violated its own policy by responding to the anonymous letters and accusing the district of slander and violating her privacy.
The PSD had been seeking a management consult since September, and the hiring was delayed because no companies responded to the first request for bids.
Other companies that submitted bids were Condrey and Associates Inc. for $29,500; A.C. Macris Consultants for $26,300; Benchmark Outsourcing Group for $24,960; and Innovative Workforce Solutions Inc. for $11,900.
Copyright © 2008, The Post and Courier, All Rights Reserved