Solon Officials to Discuss More Sewer Plant Outsourcing

UPDATE 6:35 P.M. MONDAY:

The public works committee removed the item from tonight's agenda but city council plans to discuss the matter in closed session tonight. The item was placed on Wednesday's public works committee agenda.

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The Solon Public Works Committee will receive an update tonight on outsourcing some of the work at the budget-crunched Solon sewer plant, a move that could result in some layoffs.

City council already voted to  in April, a move that officials say will save the city money but won't result in any layoffs.

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 four layoffs.

City officials expect to make a recommendation on the lift-station maintenance and lab analysis proposals by the May 4 public works meeting. Besides the proposals from outside companies, the union representing the plant's workers, the Teamsters Local 436, has submitted its own counterproposal, which is the union's right under its current contract.

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 increased.

Sewer rates in Solon were  at the beginning of the year, though Paul Solanics, director of the city's water reclamation department, 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.

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