Plainview water commissioner Andrew Bader ready for new term

Incumbent Plainview Water District Commissioner Andrew N. Bader, who was re-elected to a second term last week, said Monday that it would be his “top priority to continue to protect our water supply.”

Bader, who is chairman of the board of commissioners, beat challenger Joseph Scarpa 397 to 217 in last Tuesday’s elections, winning a three-year term to begin Jan. 1.

Bader has lived in the area for 20 years and was first elected commissioner in 2009. He is one of three district commissioners.

In a statement Monday, Bader thanked residents for their votes and said, “I will continue to implement the advanced improvements that we have already made to the district’s infrastructure.”

Last Tuesday’s election came after the state comptroller’s office released and then later removed from its website an audit that criticized the district’s accounting methods and information technology policies. The report also questioned the district’s hiring of relatives and the superintendent’s personal use of a work vehicle.

The audit, which reviewed the district’s financial practices between January 2010 and April 2011, was reposted to the website on Friday.

The district defended its financial practices in a response to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office, adding that it would review some policies and consider some recommendations.

On the hiring of relatives, the district said it “has always treated each of its employees fairly regardless of familiar status.” It said it would consult with its labor attorney to discuss a possible ethics policy to “memorialize its long-standing practice of impartiality.”