William A. DiBella, a longtime power broker in Connecticut politics as a Hartford councilman, state Senate majority leader and lobbyist, is relinquishing the chairmanship of the Metropolitan District Commission without extinguishing his influence over its governance.
DiBella said Monday he will move from chair to vice chair of the public authority that provides water and treats sewage in Greater Hartford, a move coming nine months after an outside investigation faulted him for legal work directed to a politically connected firm.
His decision not to seek another term as chair appears to be more a tactical retreat than an outright concession to opponents on the commission: His expected successor is Donald Currey of East Hartford, part of the Hartford-East Hartford contingent dominating a coalition that has kept DiBella in power for decades.
“I’m going to serve as vice chair. I’ve just got so much on my plate in terms of other stuff,” said DiBella, who represents a client developing a major data center in Waterford. “I think Don Currey will be a good chairman.”
Losing her post as vice chair is Maureen Magnan of West Hartford, which is the second-largest community in the MDC service area and whose leaders have been at odds with DiBella over issues of policy, governance and accountability. Magnan had voted in favor of the outside investigation.
“I look forward to continue working on behalf of the residents of West Hartford and ensuring that they have a voice on the board,” Magnan said, declining further comment.
Sen. Derek Slap, D-West Hartford, a co-sponsor of a bill last year that would have made the MDC subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of State Ethics, said he was unsure if DiBella’s new role would result in significant changes at MDC.
“Going from chair to vice chair, it seems to me like the culture is probably not going to change much,” Slap said.
The MDC’s 29 commissioners are scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, taking up an agenda calling the election of a chair and vice chair, followed by a revamping of the commission’s committees that reflect continued control of the current power structure.
One of the first orders of business by the new chair will be the appointment of DiBella and eight others to the Committee on Organization, which sets the membership of the other committees. Seven of the nine nominees listed on the agenda item are representatives from Hartford.
The voting members of the MDC are Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.
DiBella’s decision was first reported Monday by Kevin Rennie on his blog, Daily Ructions.
Currey, 73, is a former treasurer, councilman and school board chair in East Hartford who has been an MDC commissioner for a decade. He is the father of state Rep. Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, and his late wife, Melody A. Currey, was a state lawmaker, East Hartford mayor and state commissioner.
He is seen as an ally to DiBella.
“I’m pleased he’s staying on the board,” Currey said. “He’s a resource. You say institutional knowledge, but he has a lot of practical knowledge of not just how government works, but what’s worked at MDC, what MDC has done, hasn’t done, should have done, what’s worked, hasn’t worked. I’m happy he’s staying on.”
The incoming chair acknowledged the factions on the commission.
“There are coalitions because the commissioners from their own towns, certainly they have to represent their town,” Currey said. “There are differences, and not just West Hartford.”
The West Hartford contingent had sought a change in how rates are calculated. Water usage is tracked by meters, but the MDC communities pay for sewage treatment on the basis of property values. As a result, West Hartford says it pays about a quarter of MDC’s expenses.
Basing sewage rates on metered water use would shift costs to ratepayers in Hartford and other suburbs where property values are lower.
“If you change it so dramatically, it ends up being out-of-balance for other towns. So is it perfect? No,” Currey said. “It would be more perfect if towns didn’t have the issues they have.”
Those issues include a need to separate storm water from sewer lines.
DiBella said that because of the combined storm-water and sewage lines in many parts of West Hartford, metered water consumption does not reflect the town’s full impact on MDC’s water treatment facilities.
The daily flow from West Hartford can jump from 8 million gallons to 80 million gallons during a significant rain storm, DiBella said.
West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said her community had concerns about MDC broader than sewage costs.
“There’s just no accountability,” Cantor said.
The MDC has long been known for the high quality of its water, the opacity of its politics and the longevity of its chair. Its commissioners are appointed by the governor, legislative leaders and municipal officials who tend to be insulated from responsibility for the commission. There are no term limits.
DiBella, 80, has been a near-constant presence for decades at the MDC headquarters across the street from Hartford City Hall. His predecessor was John Bailey, the legendary Democratic boss who was an MDC commissioner at his death in 1975.
Bailey, who was a mentor to DiBella, effectively chose him for the MDC.
“He called me up to the hospital,” said DiBella, who had caddied for Bailey as a teen at the Wethersfield Country Club.
DiBella’s first stint as chair ran from 1977 to 1980, when he was elected to the General Assembly. He returned after departing the legislature as the Senate majority leader in 1997. In all, he’s been chair for 23 years.