Greenville Municipal Authority has endorsed expanding the board to seven members from five, acting on a proposal by Treasurer Dick Miller.

The need to add more people to the board, he said, is twofold.

"In 30 years of public service, this is the most complicated process I have ever been involved in," Miller said Tuesday. "More people would help keep track."

The second benefit is that the authority could delegate duties and responsibilities to committees.

That would allow for some oversight. "Right now, there is no oversight," Miller said.

Board member Janet Hurlbert echoed Miller's idea.

"Right now, there are no separate committees," she said. "To me, that is a very inefficient way of doing things."

Ms. Hurlbert said the addition of two members would put enough people on the board to make committees possible.

Miller said he would like to see a member of the board be from Hempfield Township. That would give the board the perspective of a customer in that area, he said.

"This would be the first step toward mutual cooperation between the two municipalities, something that I feel is badly needed," Miller said.

Greenville Borough Council, which created the authority, has the sole power to appoint members to the board.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, Miller proposed that the board hire an independent investigator to look into the recent water crisis and the way the authority board responded.

"This damaged our credibility," he said, adding that an independent investigation would help gain back public confidence. "We need someone from more than 10 miles away, who wasn't involved or affected by this," to do the study.

Miller said he hopes to have proposals from prospective investigators to present to the board at December's meeting.

The investigator, Miller said, would look into not only the handling of the crisis, but the entire water system to determine weak points and design flaws in the system "so we can prevent this from happening again."

It was not immediately clear how much the board will have to pay for the investigation. Miller said the board won't set a price range when it asks for proposals.

"If it is too expensive, the board may decide not to go ahead with it," he said. "It will be an unbudgeted expense."

Miller said he hopes that firms with experience in engineering and in evaluating public utilities will express interest in the investigation.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch at: ateutsch@sharonherald.com