Amador County – Ione City Council is looking at a way to get out of a two-year, $800,000 contract with the company that is operating its wastewater treatment plant, as the city battles to overcome a General Fund budget deficit.
City Manager Butzlaff last week said they need to reduce the budget by $570,000, and so far, employee departments had offered options of $307,000. The rest needs to come from employee costs, including salaries and benefits. He said furloughs are not a direct reduction but are behavioral reductions, and make up for about $80,000 in concessions offered from six employees represented by the Service Employees International Union.
City Attorney James Maynard said the city is looking for a way to make a positive separation from PERC Water Solutions, which operates the city wastewater treatment plant. He said if they cut ties the wrong way, they will be “on the hook for two more years of operational costs.” The city’s two-year contract with PERC is for $800,000.
Councilman Lloyd Oneto said that the contract approval in June was made when he voted yes. He said his vote was predicated on a promise from then City Manager Kim Kerr that if he did not like the company, they could give a 30-day notice and end the contract.
Resident Larry Rose asked about the city paying PERC $66,000 for July and August, more than $1,000 a day to run the plant. He said the city “should be able to trim that” with a level 4 operator. He also asked about City Attorney James Maynard’s bill for May of $21,000, and asked if anyone was watching Maynard’s time, with a total billing of $30,000.
Maynard said due to the nature of his job, there will be increased costs early on as he “gets up to speed.” There are also outside forces beyond his control which add to the city’s legal costs, such as litigation and claims brought against the city. He said he charges a very low flat fee to the General Fund, but the outside forces increase the extra work.
Oneto said: “We would not have nearly as big a bill if we would have been watching a long time ago.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
