WESTFIELD – The Water Commission and the Board of Public Works convened a special joint session, with each commission opening its meeting at 7 p.m. and each acting on a motion to adjourn at 7:04 p.m.
Each board, during that four-minute span, approved motions to appoint the new superintendent of the reorganized Department of Public Works. The brevity of the appointment process may have been due to the fact that the boards were only presented with one candidate, Dave Billips.
Both board voted unanimously to appoint David S. Billips to head the new department, which while created by the City Council months ago through an ordinance change, does not come into existence under July 1 with the new 2016 Fiscal Year budget
Ironically, it was Billips who had proposed the new DPW structure. Billips has served the city as the head of the Water Resource Department for more than a decade and has acted at interim superintendent of the DPW since last August following the retirement of Jim Mulvenna.
The City Council voted in April to combine all of the city departments responsible for maintaining the city’s infrastructure, into one Public Works organization based on the organizational plan developed by Billips, who in effect, eliminated his own job in the Water Resource Department.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said the city had to go through the hiring process required of governmental agencies. Knapik said earlier this week that the city used a two-tiered approach to reviewing candidates who applied for the new post. A screening committee went through the resumes of the candidates and selected three to be interviewed by a separate committee.
The interview committee, which included Human Resource Director Karin Decker, Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., City Solicitor Susan Phillips, Water Commission Chairman Ronald J. Cole and Board of Public Works Chairman John Sullivan, interviewed three candidates Friday, June 19 and unanimously voted to send only Billips name to the two boards for appointment to the new post.
Cole said prior to the meeting Tuesday night that the committee felt that “Dave stood head and shoulders above the other two candidates.”
Cole said that Billips has extensive experience in both Water and wastewater treatment and holds licenses “those other two candidates don’t hold.
“I think that his experience with the city and his ability to work within the city’s political structure was a major factor in his selection,” Cole said Monday. “Dave also has a track record of correcting deficiencies within departments, correcting issues, so he had a proven record as a go-to guy.
“We all agreed that his past history in those areas was the key strength he brought to the table,” Cole said.
“We had the final interview Friday and the consensus of the five interview committee members was to offer the job to Dave.”
BPW Chairman John Sullivan said he was on the appointing committee in 2003 when Billips was named to replace Alan Pierce as head of the city’s sewerage treatment plant, following Pierce’s retirement. Sullivan said that he served on that selection committee with former Human Resources Director Helen Bowler.
“Bowler said that Dave was one of the best hires she made for the city,” Sullivan said. “His plate is going to be fill, so I hope that he delegates some of those responsibilities to his deputies.”
Billips said that he “appreciates all of the support” he has received from both boards over the years and anticipates that “we have some tough times ahead, but we have a lot of talented people to get us through those times.”
