WAPA Slammed in Senate For Hiring Non-Resident For Safety Director Job

Senators could do little to hold back their disappointment after hearing from the V.I. Water and Power Authority that it had hired a director of safety from outside of the territory, instead of promoting a staff member from within the organization.

Josh Jones was hired to replace the former director who resigned from the company earlier this year, after being employed at WAPA since 2013. Mr. Jones is being paid about $30,000 more to serve in the same position.

According to WAPA’s Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Andrew Smith, Mr. Jones's primary experience is in the field of transmission and distribution in addition to having 12 years of experience working in the field of safety. He said however that Mr. Jones is expected to “rely on others” in areas of “subject matters expertise” including water operation and storage distribution.

The senators heard that in addition to making a salary of $140,000 a year, Mr. Jones is entitled to a $1,000 housing allowance for one year and would be relocated to the territory with his family.

“We have some local guys that have been working in safety for quite some time with lots of experience. As a matter of fact, some with way more experience than Mr. Josh Jones. So, how do we skip by the local guys them, and bring someone in that we’re going to have to pay all the benefits for," questioned Senator Franklin Johnson.

Mr. Johnson noted that WAPA’s injury rate had reduced by more than half from 29 incidents in 2013 to 11 in 2021, utilizing the same staffers who were “overlooked” for the job.

“This got to stop. We cannot continue operating like this and expect the men and women who are here busting their groin, doing a real good job to be bypassed … it’s unfair; it is wrong,” he maintained.