CFPUA hires new information officer, to end contract with PR firm over GenX

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) –  The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority has a new public information officer.

It’s a job that’s been empty as the utility has dealt with the fallout over GenX in the water supply.

The CFPUA parted ways with PIO Mike McGill last April before GenX hit the headlines.

“There is a regular public information function within the company we have not had a person to devote their time to that,” says councilman Kevin O’Grady who also serves on the CFPUA board.

On August 21, Peg Hall Williams has been hired on to handle informing the public of what the authority is doing.

“Is it enough under control now that we can just go with the PIO or do we still need the outside firm,” says O’Grady.

We took that question to the authority’s executive director.

“We have a meeting next week to move all of the information from the consulting firm over to our staff and we’ll take it from here,” says Jim Flechtner.

That does not mean the authority will save any money. They paid the Raleigh PR firm Eckel and Vaughn more than $65,000 since GenX news came out in June.

“They helped us reach out to our customers get the proper message to them so that they were up to speed with everything that was happening and it was very important to have that at the time and we are grateful for the work they provided and we got a good value for it,” says Flechtner.

Williams comes from a communications job in Greensboro. She’ll make $85,000 a year in the role, $15,000 less than what McGill was reportedly making. The authority made no formal announcement of her hiring.

We were also not able to sit down with her yet Flecthner says that’s because she is working on Irma relief efforts the authority is a part of.