Editor:
A petition is being circulated in the community asking MOFD (Moraga-Orinda Fire District) Director Fred Weil to resign his position due to his actions in 2008; granting MOFD Chief Pete Nowicki $110,000 in extra compensation which generated $94,000 in additional annual pension benefits for Nowicki. Over 30 years, including adjustments for inflation, these benefits would cost the District and the tax payers $4 million. These additional benefits were not in the Chief’s contract. They were granted by Weil, then the President of the Board, and the rest of the board on their own volition. And recent reports indicate that the Board was fully aware at the time of the impact of their actions.
While Weil did not act alone in this (and the rest of the Board; John Wyro, Frank Sperling, Pete Wilson, and Gene Gottfried should be equally admonished), Weil is the last member of that 2008 Board still sitting on the MOFD Board, making financial decisions on our behalf. The quality of those decisions have been thrown into great doubt. Director Weil should resign for the sake of the community and allow the current Board to move forward without this cloud of doubt over their heads.
I encourage you to spend the 60 seconds it will take to sign the petition asking Fred Weil to do the right thing. I further encourage you to have the petition web site publish your name but you will have the option to sign the petition anonymously. The petition site is HERE. Only action by members of the community will encourage other leaders to think twice before they act in a similar fashion in the future.
For more detailed information go to HERE.
Signed,
Steve Cohn/Orinda
Some additional context on this issue: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124802764267362893
Wow, that’s quite the justification. He’s entitled because he followed the rules. They had no choice.
I think you have to be a WSJ subscriber to see that article but a copy of that 7/20/09 article exists on the FAIR website http://www.fairfororinda.org/newsarticles/
I am so glad it looks like that joint station between Lafayette and MOFD is a no go.
The issue of pension compensation is worthy of scrutiny. It is a shame that this officer has had his career sullied by the questions surrounding compensation for his service but it is also common knowledge that many in his position were able to game the system for personal enrichment. That is not to say that these people do not deserve a healthy pension for many years of public service but it is a demonstration maybe that the guidelines used to distribute these pensions is flawed and deserves another look.
Tom, why are you glad that MOFD and ConFire will not be sharing in about $200 million in savings over the next 50 years by combining two of their least utilized stations?
I guess we’ll see what happens; I’m sure there’s no penalty for Mr. Weil for this, but kicking him off the board would be a start.