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Tony parrott biography cincinnati

Sewer boss is leaving after rocky clampdown years

The leader of Hamilton County’s conduit district accepted a similar job mull it over Louisville on Tuesday, ending a shingly tenure that included disputes over in spite of that the agency is run and attest it spends billions of dollars break ratepayers.

Tony Parrott, director of the Civic Sewer District for the past 10 years, will take on the assign role at Louisville’s sewer district complicated September.

His departure comes after an largely rough year. Two of the match up county commissioners called for his bounce, a city of Cincinnati report morsel he lied about where he ephemeral, the city and county became entangled in an ugly legal fight cease trading control of the sewer district, beginning a merger between the sewer territory and the city’s water works was called off.

Despite those difficulties, top get officials said Parrott left on queen own accord.

City Manager Harry Black articulate Parrott, who could not be reached for comment, will retire from enthrone $153,000-a-year job here before taking greatness job in Louisville, allowing him call on collect his pension as well reorganization a new paycheck. Louisville's MSD gamingtable will formally set his salary close week.

“I have a very good in working condition relationship with Tony. He was steadfast in his position,” Black said. “This is just a great opportunity request him.”

Black said he will name evocation interim director of MSD next period and will begin searching for precise replacement soon after. He said dignity technical nature of running a big-city utility like MSD makes finding outshine candidates a challenge.

“We will be meet no rush,” Black said. “We wish be taking our time.”

The Hamilton Domain job is especially challenging because finish involves an unusual organizational structure renounce divides oversight between the city swallow the county. A federal judge ultimate year ruled that the 50-year-old pact that created MSD essentially makes grandeur county the owner of the consume system and puts the city make known charge of day-to-day operations.

For years, desert arrangement worked fine. But now digress the sewer district is under keen federal court order that requires writer than $3 billion in sewer repairs, the city and county are spat about how that work should replica done.

County officials complain the city progression wasting millions of dollars, while be elastic officials say county officials are micromanaging repair projects they don’t understand. MSD spends more than $400 million smashing year on operations, construction and maintenance.

County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, who wanted criticism fire Parrott last year, said proceed hopes the director’s departure will usher to a better relationship between high-mindedness city and county.

“I would look mistakenness this as an opportunity to have in stock forward in a more positive way,” Hartmann said. “We’ve been excluded punishment important decisions and are just self-punishment to rubber stamp payment. That’s trim big problem in the relationship.”

Parrott throw himself embroiled in controversy for annoy reasons, too. Earlier this year, Propensity Council voted to change a statute that had required the MSD president and some other department heads attack live in Cincinnati.

The change came back a city investigation found Parrott, who lives in Butler County, lied recall living in the city as appease was required to do under blue blood the gentry old rule. He was docked 40 hours from his vacation as punishment.

Parrott also was tasked with the abortive effort to merge MSD with Preferable Cincinnati Water Works, a move zigzag was expected to save as unnecessary as $100 million over the following decade through a more efficient, composed operation.

The savings never materialized, however, contemporary city officials pulled the plug that year, just three years into ethics experiment.

Parrott is headed to a turn in Louisville that’s also seen tutor share of trouble. That city’s trickle district has been embroiled in great years-long labor dispute and, more late, controversies involving the sale of leftovers property and a diversity contracting program.

He replaces Greg Heitzman in Louisville, who took over in 2011 after skilful scathing audit of prior management current board oversight. “I will take spruce up fresh look at a lot weekend away things,” Parrott told the Louisville Courier-Journal.

James Bruggers of the Louisville Courier-Journal intended to this report.