By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times
A Jefferson County Judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by two Birmingham Water Works Board members against Board Chair Tereshia Huffman.
George Munchus had filed a motion this summer to join fellow board member Lucien Blankenship’s lawsuit against the utility which alleged Huffman blocked Blankenship from receiving his $1,000 monthly stipend, AL.com reported in June.
Munchus and Blankenship alleged their monthly payments were denied because they refused to sign a “loyalty pledge” and filed suit.
BWW passed a “self-governing policy” in April 2023 that includes significant new ethics requirements and training for board members and said any board members who violated the policy would forfeit their expense allowance until they complied. Munchus said he had been denied the stipend for more than a year because he refused to sign the board’s policy.
On Thursday, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Javan Patton dismissed the case.
“We are pleased with the court moving quickly to dismiss this case,” Huffman said in a statement to The Birmingham Times. “Our board is committed to being held to the highest ethical standards, and that is the basis of our directors’ pledge. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on providing high-quality water and customer care to those we serve.”
Munchus, the longest serving member of the water works board, on late Sunday said, “no comment … except this issue is not yet over.” Efforts to reach Blankenship were unsuccessful.
Blankenship filed suit alleging that Huffman and the utility’s former General Manager Michael Johnson were negligent and a violated the Fair Standards Labor Act by stopping the utility’s board allowance payments to Blankenship last year.
Blankenship asked a judge to force the BWWB to pay “the full amount of unpaid meeting expenses” plus damages and attorney’s fees. Munchus filed a motion to intervene as an additional plaintiff in that suit.
The self-governing policy passed in April 2023 requires board members within 60 days of adopting the policy:
- Receive in-person training from the Alabama Ethics Commission on the State Ethics Act
- Receive training on parliamentary procedure
- Receive training on the Alabama Open Meetings Act, Public Records Act, Competitive Bidding Act, and Public Works Act
Huffman has said, “Anyone who reads the BWWB’s Director Pledge will agree that there are no statements included within it which could be considered unreasonable or unexpected by the public. Pledging to the public, in writing, that our board will adhere to Alabama’s ethics laws and not repeat the mistakes of prior boards is a meaningful step in the right direction.”
