A former member of the Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) is calling for the utility’s internal auditor to operate independently, arguing the current governance structure creates conflicts of interest.
Dusty Horwitt, who served on the BWL board from 2021 to 2023, said the board currently oversees the auditor, who in turn reviews board decisions, as well as department management. Horwitt said shifting oversight of the auditor to the Lansing City Council would improve accountability.
“There recently was a rate increase,” Horwitt said. “It was a little unclear whether the rate increase was necessary, and that affects ratepayers, in some cases for lower-income people, significantly. And so you want to have somebody who's independent digging into that decision.”
He also cited past concerns over transparency, pointing to the utility’s July 2023 announcement of a planned $750 million expenditure over 10 years to build clean energy projects.
“We received a one-page news release and a 10-minute verbal summary from the general manager,” Horwitt said. “So it would still be, even now, a couple of years later, very helpful for an auditor to evaluate that decision-making.”
Horwitt recommended the change in auditor governance in an email to a commission responsible for revising the Lansing City Charter. But the commission’s chair, Brian Jeffries, said the proposed change could have a negative impact on the utility.
“It was set up to be an independent operation of the city to keep away as much of the political influence as it possibly could be,” said Jeffries. “It was a business, and it had to be run as a business… I think if you start taking the internal auditor out [the BWL board] and put it in either with the mayor or with city council, those influences will come into play.”
Jeffries also questioned whether the city council would have adequate resources to take on the auditor, and he cited the complex nature of the utility.
“To have the city council, which … is a part-time body, oversee the internal auditor of the Board of Water and Light, I think would be very problematic,” said Jeffries.
Jeffries said he doesn’t think the current auditing system poses a conflict of interest but that the commission would likely consider the issue at a future meeting.
When contacted for comment, the Board of Water and Light responded with a statement which they presented at a March 18th meeting. In the statement, they said they felt confident in their auditor and felt no changes were necessary.
The Lansing Board of Water and Light is a financial supporter of WKAR.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.