The Birmingham Water Works Board voted Monday to void a May 6 contract that made its long-time outside attorney an employee and to terminate a contract with his law firm.

Under the employment contract, K. Mark Parnell was serving as deputy general manager and general counsel for Birmingham Water Works, with a salary of $660,000 per year, a vehicle stipend of $1,000 per month and a substantial benefits package that included immediate eligibility for the retirement program without having paid into it.

Parnell’s employment contract, which was one of six the previous board voted to allow its chairwoman, Tereshia Huffman, or Water Works General Manager Mac Underwood to negotiate during its final meeting before Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that required installation of a new board, had become a subject of public controversy.

“It was a slap in the face to rate payers, to employees, to pensioners and to this new board, and I can’t abide by it,” said new board member Jeff Brumlow, who made motions to add to the agenda items regarding BWW’s employment contract with Parnell and its contract with his law firm, Parnell Thompson LLC.

Also at Brumlow’s request, the board voted to retain three new law firms as outside counsel. They are Porter, Porter & Hassinger, Paden & Paden and Reginald D. McDaniel LLC.

Brumlow, a municipal attorney, said he knows attorneys with Porter, Porter & Hassinger and Paden & Paden, and they have expertise in various areas relevant to BWW’s legal needs, including competitive bid law, litigation and corporate governance. He said he recommended McDaniel at board member Sheila Tyson’s request.

“We’ve got a lot of legal work,” Brumlow said. “There’s a lot going on. We’ve got to have counsel. And we’ve got to have good counsel that everybody trusts.”

Parnell’s contract with the BWWB stated that the board would have to pay his legal fees if a new board challenged his contract, and it said that if Parnell were terminated, the board would have to pay him the full amount left in the contract.

The board also voted on Monday to request a review by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts of all the old board’s contracts and recent actions.

Board member Jarvis Patton Sr. asked why the board needed to bring in the state to conduct an audit that could be done by a local firm.

“We’ve got some public perception issues that I think we’re all aware of,” responded board member David Standridge, who suggested bringing in the state auditors. “I just feel like we need an independent state agency to come in, review the books, review the finances. When we get that report, we’ll know where we’re at, where we stand, and we can go forward.”

The previous board faced criticism for spending on attorneys, lobbyists and public-relations firms.

Among other actions, the board voted to:

• Request proposals for a forensic audit, which investigates financial records to look for potential fraud, misconduct or illegal activities.
• Table payment of invoices for legal fees and other professional services until board members review those invoices.
• Table a $1.87 million agreement with the BWW’s engineering consultant, Arcadis U.S., for construction management services for a project at the Water Works’ western filter plant.
• Elect a temporary chair and vice chair to lead meetings until the board adopts new bylaws that will conform with the state law that dissolved the previous board. The board elected Tommy Hudson, Gov. Kay Ivey’s appointee to the board, as temporary chair and Jarvis Patton Sr., Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s appointee, as vice chair.
• Reschedule its June 16 meeting to June 24 and move the work session preceding the meeting to June 18.