A new majority on the Niagara Falls Water Board is continuing to shake up the ranks of its department heads.
In the final quarter of 2024, the new board leadership has dismissed at least three department heads and some may not be immediately replaced.
Less than 24 hours after assuming control of the board in September, the new majority approved the firing of the water board’s Director of Administrative Services David San Lorenzo. His termination was announced to water board staff in a short, five-sentence email from the board’s Executive Director Sean Costello.
“Please be advised that David San Lorenzo is no longer employed by the Niagara Falls Water Board,” Costello wrote in the email addressed to “All Staff.” “We appreciate your patience and understanding during this period of transition.”
That email advised staff with questions about human resources-related matters to contact either Costello or Water Board Safety Director John Accardo. However, Accardo is also out of a job now, released from his position on Dec. 31.
And Water Board Chair Richard Sirianni confirmed on Tuesday night that the board’s operations executive, David Conti, has been relieved of his duties as well.
“I believe we’re becoming more efficient,” Sirianni said. “We have to get the most out of everybody.”
The water board chair said candidates are being interviewed to replace San Lorenzo. He said it wasn’t clear how long the process would take.
“We’re looking to fill that position, but we don’t have a final (selection) yet,” Sirianni said. “Accardo will be replaced, but not right now.”
Conti, who held the necessary licenses required to operate the water and waste treatment plants, will have his role filled by the hiring of former water board executive director Paul Drof. Drof, who also has the required licenses to operate the plants, will work on a part-time basis.
New York state requires the licensed plant operator to only be on site for a minimum of 20 hours a week.
San Lorenzo had attracted the ire of the water board’s unionized workforce during contentious contract negotiations over the last year. He was also criticized by union leaders for failing to conduct hiring at the board, and its two plants, using Falls Civil Service listings.
The union contract negotiations concluded quickly after San Lorenzo was terminated.