According to meeting minutes, Norwalk’s Water and Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) recently used $100,260 of city sewer funds for the purchase of two Tesla Y models, to be used by all city departments, in furtherance of the city’s green initiative. 

“So as all of you are aware we are changing our fleet to a green fleet,” said Vanessa Valadares, Norwalk’s Chief of Operations and Public Works and a sitting member of the WPCA’s board at a June 17 meeting. “So as part of trying to be the greenest city in Connecticut, the mayor has asked us that for all the new purchases of vehicles, we try to buy either electric or hybrid.”

The June 17 meeting ended with a 4-1 vote in favor of authorizing the purchase of the Teslas. Valadares said that the purchases had already been approved by Norwalk’s Common Council and Public Works Committee. WPCA Chair Darren Oustafine was the only member of the board to question the usage of sewer funds to purchase the vehicles.

“It’s always been my understanding that WPCAs were created in the first place because, in some other towns, the sewer-use fee ends up being used as a way to tax,” said Oustafine, citing an example of another town he heard had used its sewer money to pave roads. “Somebody said, ‘We have to establish a WPCA so that when we collect money to treat sewage, that money is going to be used to treat the sewage and not to pave roads.’”

Oustafine asked how many cars WPCA employees currently use. Ralph Kolb, Board Member and Senior Environmental Engineer for the DPW’s Operations Division, said that the WPCA typically uses two cars a day, sourcing cars from the DPW fleet, or using the foreman’s or their own personal vehicles.

“Are we getting rid of any of our existing vehicles that are delegated to the WPCA specifically?,” asked Outsafine. Valadares explained that the plan is to add the Teslas to the existing fleet, though she also said in a June 11 Common Council Meeting that the cars were meant to replace two Ford Explorers. She said the City’s cars fall under “one umbrella,” and get rotated to different departments. She said that the city planned to purchase four cars in total, but that the WPCA would fund two of them.

“I don’t mean to be blunt but, what assurances do we have that these cars will be dedicated to the WPCA?,” asked Oustafine. “Are we sure that these cars are going to be used by WPCA employees?”

Valadares said that the cars would “definitely be used by people related to WPCA,” but also told Oustafine that “even if the cars are not there all day, and ended up being relocated to whoever will have the best use out of the car, there will be [other] cars available to them [WPCA employees].”

Valadares then said outright that the usage of WPCA funds to purchase them is to “try to minimize the costs through the departments.” When asked by Oustafine whether the cars would be parked at Norwalk’s Water Pollution Control Facility on South Smith Street or at City Hall, Valadares said “it depends who is using them.”

“So I’ll say it back and see if I understand,” said Oustafine. “So we don’t mind sharing?”

“Correct,” said Valadares.

Per the WPCA’s own financial bylaws, excess revenues are to be deposited in the WPCA’s reserves, used on outstanding debt, or used for the purchase of capital assets, the latter of the three presumably being the category which the Teslas would fall under. Per the local law that established the WPCA, the WPCA’s director, “shall have the authority to contract for the procurement of goods and services, including for the day-to-day operations of the treatment plant and collection system, as may be necessary, in accordance with procedures established by the WPCA.” Furthermore, local laws state that, “all revenues and costs of operations of the WPCA shall be accounted for separately from the other operations of the City.”

While the Teslas ostensibly will see WPCA use, members of both the Public Works Committee and the Common Council could hardly contain their own excitement to use them. Every Public Works Committee member voted in favor of the purchase except for Dajuan Wiggins, who abstained.

“I think this is tremendously useful for the city, I think it will be a great step forward,” said Public Works Committee member Nora Niedzielski-Eichner, in the June 4 meeting that approved their purchase. “I’m excited, and I hope everyone has fun driving them!” 

The excitement of city council members was also palpable. Councilmember Dajuan Wiggins joked, “Are these cars – are they just the cars or are they going to get a Cyber Truck? If so, I would love to drive them.”

In the Common Council meeting, Valadares said that the Department of Public Works has been looking to replace Ford Explorers in its fleet for some time, and that the Teslas have proven most advantageous due to the speed of their delivery and a $7,500 tax rebate the Town would receive upon their purchase.

“We looked at other options, I know some people may be thinking, ‘Oh, we’re gonna buy a Tesla?,” said Valadares. “We looked at a lot of Fords, we looked at a lot of Toyotas, the Chevys, but for now, what is available and what we can get our hands on, at this price range, Tesla is the most competitive.”

WPCA Boardmember’s Mayor Harry Rilling, Valadares, Ed Abrams, and Kolb, and Dylene Bird and Chris Torre of the City’s Operations Division did not respond to Inside Investigator’s requests for comment.

Republish This Story

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.