In Cost-Saving Move, Solon City Council Votes to Outsource Some Sewer Services

Solon City Council voted last week to outsource sludge hauling at the sewer plant, rejecting a counterproposal from the union at the same time.

The move will save the sewer plant – which is dealing with a $340,000 to $400,000 deficit this year – about $76,000, and will not require any layoffs, said Paul Solanics, director of the city's water reclamation department.

But the city is also exploring the outsourcing of other services, namely lift-station maintenance and lab analysis, that could save a total of $285,568, and those moves could result in layoffs. Officials had said in January that six jobs were on the line at the sewer plant. 

"Obviously, we've got jobs on the table and things people are worrying about," Solanics told city council. 

The sewer plant is dealing with a double whammy of factors that have driven the budget into the red. First, revenues are dropping as customers use less water and the cost of operating the plant has gone up.

Sewer rates in Solon were at the beginning of the year, though Solanics had asked for a 12 percent increase to shore up the budget. City council approved the 9 percent bump, but asked Solanics to find cost savings elsewhere.

He targeted the outsourcing of sludge hauling, lift-station maintenance and lab analysis because contracting them out would result in savings of roughly $360,000.

The council approved the contract with Ohio Bulk Transfer of $350 per load of sludge, or $157,500 per year. Solanics said the staff did that work for $233,511. Solanics said Ohio Bulk has been used before during emergency situations, and that the company did well.

The union, the Teamsters Local 436, issued a counterproposal as per their contract. That proposal was to save money by using only one employee to do the work and reducing the amount of trips to the landfill to deliver sludge.

"We can do the job just as well and just as cheap," said Joe Koelliker, a sewer plant employee, to city council.

The proposal Solon officials voted on did not include a cost figure for that sludge hauling proposal, and the public works committee rejected it.

A Teamsters official delivered more detailed numbers after the vote, but Public Works Commissioner said he still felt outsourcing was the best thing. He cited a recent accident when one of the city's trucks rolled over and caused $75,000 in damage.

"I think this is a good opportunity to get out of the business of sludge hauling," Stanek said.

The city will recommend decisions on outsourcing the other services to the public works committee in early May, and any contracts must be approved by city council by May 16.

The union will have opportunities to offer counter proposals to those bids as well. Their larger proposal to save money at the plant argues that the the city doesn't have a right to lay off employees at this time because the budget deficit is "largely the result of the city's failure to increase appropriately user fees." 

The Teamsters also said they would submit the dispute to arbitration or seek to hold a referendum if a compromise isn't reached.

The union's proposal is to save money by offering retirement incentives of $50,000 to the the three most senior employees, who earn a collective $297,435 per year. Over two years, the union says that proposal would save nearly $445,000.