CUC board defers $115K CMMS manager position after tense exchange, approves PIO hiring

Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board chair Allen Perez questioned management's request to hire a computerized maintenance management system manager with a salary ceiling of $115,000, saying the utility cannot afford additional personnel expenses amid its worsening financial condition.

The discussion during the CUC board's regular meeting at its office in Dandan last Nov. 12 led to a tense exchange between Perez and executive director Kevin Watson, who maintained that the position was necessary to comply with federal environmental requirements.

The board eventually deferred the request, with management agreeing to seek funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It separately approved hiring a public information officer , whose salary ranges from $40,000 to $60,000.

Perez questioned the timing of the CMMS request after CUC chief financial officer Betty Terlaje reported that the utility recorded a $42.5 million operating loss in fiscal year 2026 and had only $4.4 million in unrestricted cash as of Oct. 31.

The proposed CMMS manager, classified at salary grade D63, would oversee CUC's computerized maintenance system, including tracking utility assets, scheduling equipment maintenance, coordinating its expansion to the power division, integrating it with other management systems, and training employees.

Watson said the position, which would report directly to him, was necessary under an amendment to CUC's stipulated order with EPA.

Perez, however, questioned whether existing employees could temporarily handle the responsibilities while CUC remains under a hiring freeze.

"We can't argue on one side that we have no money and then we're going into austerity and then we're going to hire new people," Perez said.

Watson maintained that the position was necessary to ensure the success of CUC's ongoing computerized management projects.

"If you want to jeopardize these programs, that's fine," Watson said.

Perez immediately objected.

"I caution you to be careful in telling us, the board, that we're jeopardizing these programs. I do not believe that you guys have fully presented this to us to truly justify this," he said.

Perez said he was not satisfied with management's justification for filling the position while the utility struggles financially.

"I am not totally satisfied in terms of the justification today, and I'm not ready to approve this," he said.

He suggested asking EPA to finance the position instead of using CUC's operating funds. Watson agreed to approach the federal agency, and the board left the hiring request pending.

Perez also directed management to exhaust alternative funding sources before seeking approval for additional positions during the hiring freeze.

Meanwhile, the board voted 4-0 to authorize management to recruit a PIO, with members agreeing that CUC needs to improve communication with customers, particularly amid proposed utility rate increases and ongoing financial problems.

Management said the position would help explain CUC's operations and policies to the public, while board members favored considering qualified internal employees to minimize additional costs.

CUC board member Simon A. Sanchez II, a longtime commissioner and former chairman of Guam's Consolidated Commission on Utilities, supported having an in-house PIO familiar with utility operations.

"I think, in the long run, we're better served to have an in-house PIO that learns our business and then can explain that business," Sanchez said.

The board left the recruitment process and selection of internal or external candidates to management.