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Water manager gets scathing review Friday Nov 11, 2016 at 5:11 PM Nov 12, 2016 at 2:54 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm A scathing performance review of ousted Medford Water Commission Manager Larry Rains was highly critical of his poor leadership in dealing with the lead-pipe issue and for concealing information from his board and the public. A majority of the 14 Water Commission employees interviewed described Rains in negative terms, particularly over a lack of transparency, lack of communication and for failing to own up to mistakes. "I think this kind of showed us all that it was time for a change," Water Commission Board Chairman Leigh Johnson said. Rains, who came under fire after lead pipes were discovered in Medford's water system, has agreed to a separation agreement with the Water Commission, which will provide him with the equivalent of nine months' salary totaling $110,682. Rains, who was placed on paid administrative leave Oct. 19, also will receive a one-time payment of $3,900, the value of six months' worth of insurance. His wife will also receive six months' insurance coverage. Rains was paid $147,576 annually plus benefits. The Mail Tribune obtained a copy of the performance review, prepared by Crown Hill Consulting LLC of Medford, after filing public records requests. The Water Commission initially refused to release the performance review, but Jackson County District Attorney Beth Heckert ordered the release of the document Wednesday. Those who filled out the evaluations remained anonymous in the review but were categorized as board members, employees and peers. Peers described Rains as a "my-way-or-the-highway" leader who was "secretive" and not "solutions oriented." "A lack of transparency is a hallmark of his leadership style; people feel information is shared selectively on a 'need-to-know' basis, and very few people are viewed as having a 'need to know,' " the review stated. Employees said there was never a general meeting to discuss the lead issue to brief key personnel who could answer questions from the media. The 75-page review summarized many employees as saying Rains tried to limit information that was sent to the board and didn't provide enough materials to properly analyze situations. Rains edited information and told employees not to discuss certain topics, the review found. "I think it was very telling to the board that there were things going on that we were not aware of," Johnson said. "Some of it came as a surprise to us." He said the board plans to conduct an extensive search for a new manager. Rains could not be reached for comment Friday. Central Point Mayor Hank Williams, a liaison at Water Commission meetings for his city, said that if he had been a board member, he would have lost confidence in Rains because Rains failed to alert the board about lead-pipe issues. "When they discovered the lead and copper in the water, it took him a couple of months to tell his commission about it," Williams said. "They should have been told about it immediately. The longer you let this stuff go, the worse it gets." The Mail Tribune reviewed emails and other documents from the Water Commission July 17 that shed some light on Rains' handling of the emerging lead-pipe problem. On May 4, Rains told the board, “To my knowledge, we have no known lead piping that exists in our system today,” though he added he couldn’t be 100 percent certain. On the same day he made that statement, the commission's service crew discovered a lead pigtail on Newtown Street in west Medford. On May 27, another pigtail was found on Oakdale Avenue, and tests taken at a tap inside the house confirmed high lead levels. Water Commission records show a lead connector had been found on Oakdale Avenue before, in August 2015, almost a year prior to Rains' statement. Rains failed to alert the Water Commission board about the lead pipe issue until much later, though the exact date when the board became aware of it remains unclear. To date, 24 lead pipes have been discovered in the system, and tests have found high levels of lead. Most of the lead pipes discovered so far have been removed. While the review emphasized many of Rains' leadership problems, it also praised him for his professionalism and his decisiveness, though it criticized him for blaming others if something went wrong. Of the 14 employees interviewed, five gave Rains a positive score, three had an equal number of positive and negative scores, and six had negative scores and comments. "Morale has not been good for some time, but the lead issue, the way it was handled and the lack of communication has served to make it worse," the review found. Colleagues from other agencies that deal with the Water Commission also knocked Rains for his lack of empathy but found he was respectful, professional with customers, spoke and wrote effectively, and his words and actions matched. Some employees said Rains would ask for something to be deleted from a presentation to the board, and when the board later asked for that information, Rains wouldn't acknowledge that he had had it deleted. In the review, the Water Commission board found Rains managed his time well, was fiscally responsible, had well-considered solutions, and spoke and wrote effectively. However, the board found Rains had a number of weaknesses, including lack of empathy and failure to own decisions or mistakes. Members expressed concern over whether he treated all employees with respect. Rains wasn't proactive enough and didn't get ahead of the lead issue, board members said in the review, adding that the board found that Rains' "poor judgment has eroded trust." — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.