Louisiana public service commissioner Craig Greene was seemingly up to the blame game in Lafayette last week at the Comeaux recreational center in Lafayette. Greene called a meeting under the guise of allowing his district customers to confront a utility and express their dissatisfaction with recent sewer and water rate increases that were implemented by the Public Service Commission regarding Magnolia Water Company.

But from the underground buzz it sure seemed more like the biblical tale of the scapegoat. Where the Jewish chief priest symbolically lays the sins of the people upon it and then casts it into the wilderness. What’s that song by Shaggy? “It Wasn’t Me?” Seems like an effort to throw shade on one’s own actions and responsibilities.

The meeting started at 6:00 PM. In attendance was Commissioner Mike Francis as well as senior representatives of Magnolia Water. The meeting kicked off at 6:00 PM, but Greene showed up around 6:45 wearing his hospital scrubs.

After digging into the history of this outhouse it seems that the problem started with a company called Total Environmental Solutions (TESI) which up until recently was a wholly-owned fiefdom of the electric co-op SLECA. Some twenty-five years ago, TESI was identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the Louisiana department of environmental quality, as a non-compliant wastewater system. In fact, this company was continually out of compliance and subject to a federal consent decree for a period of over 20 years. During the period of the consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency, TESI failed to make the necessary repairs to its system to come into compliance.

Seems TESI’s board pled poverty throughout the entire time. Upon review of the Public Service Commission testimony records, it was shown that the board of directors of both SLECA and TESI were virtually identical and the profits earned by TESI were stripped from the company and turned over to the Co-op in an effort to subsidize the electricity rates Instead of the company fixing its wastewater systems. That doesn’t seem very smart.

According to the record, the Public Service Commission opened an investigation into the behavior of TESI in this matter but from a review of the transcripts it looks like Greene initially led an effort to shut down the investigation. After a delay of what appears to be a month, Greene acquiesced, and the investigation moved forward. Later, the attorney for TESI claimed that all documents related to the company were destroyed in a storm.

Dead stop.

Getting past the “dog ate the homework” moment, we move on to the sale of TESI to Magnolia Water, who agreed to invest the millions required to repair all of the system that the TESI Board failed to complete. The record shows that the Environmental Protection Agency required the Magnolia Water to complete the repairs within three and a half years. Completing the task, Magnolia then presented to the Public Service Commission it’s request for rate increase to recover the amounts that it spent.

The record shows that the commission staff recommended the increases. So far nothing seems unusual.

In fact, at the Comeaux meeting, Commissioner Francis spoke to explain why it was necessary to vote to provide for the recovery of the funds that were used to repair the system. Francis explained that Magnolia Water did what TESI failed to do in 23 years as it simply took profit.

But Greene took a different approach than Francis, wherein he retorted that he did not vote for these rates, and he was absent during the vote due to a medical emergency, and that he placed the blame for the rate recovery on the four other present (at their job) commissioners.

To the great credit of the folks in attendance at that town hall meeting, nobody fell for it, and they openly booed Greene for his effort to seek the political shade. In fact, one person in attendance stood up, pointed his finger at Greene and told him, “you failed us!”

Evidently the axe did not just fall on Greene, other negative comments were made about the ineptitude, rudeness and unresponsiveness of Greene’s staff.

One gentleman, an apartment complex owner, stated that he had tried to obtain information and direction from Greene’s Executive assistant, David Zito, for two years and could not get a return phone call or e-mail. Instead of acknowledging the comment Greene simply replied that Mr. Zito no longer worked for him. (It seems that Mr. Zito worked at the commission up to mid November of 2023). The gentleman who owned the apartment complex found no joy in Greene’s response and left in disgust.

On a separate note, it has been reported that Mr. Zito is the beneficiary of a plush job Greene may have helped organize for his previous executive assistant at a service company for a local utility regulated by the commission. But that will be the subject of a different article.

Interestingly enough, two other customers stated that they had called Greene’s Baton Rouge office and asked to speak to the commissioner himself about service issues, but they were told by a Ms. Johnson that the commissioner didn’t speak to directly to constituents.

Greene refuted that any such thing could have occurred and that there was no one in his office named Ms. Johnson. And at that point one of the attendees showed him his personal notes that he contemporaneously took with his call showing the name Ms. Johnson.

When questioned about issues associated with the water company and the need to comply with the consent decree Greene didn’t seem to have any answers, or knowledge, he simply continuously referred all questions to the executives from Magnolia Water.

Nobody should seem too surprised as the general word from people who practice before the Public Service Commission is that everyone must meet with Greene’s executive assistant as Greene’s is a non-engaged commissioner who only has appointments on commission matters on Fridays for one hour in the afternoon. While it can’t be confirmed about the actual time available, the confirmed comments are that Greene had his executive assistant handle virtually all meetings with office related issues that are normally attended by commissioners.

It’s probably not a good idea to throw four commissioners under the bus of regulatory life at a public meeting when it seems like you may have gone along with it throughout other acquisitions. Otherwise, it would come across as self-serving, untrustworthy, possibly disengaged from responsibility.

Who knows, one might think that somebody might be trying to promote their career on the bodies of their fellow commissioners!