Committee OKs 1-year extension for HomeServe while city goes back out to bid

The Cleveland City Council Utilities Committee approved an emergency ordinance to extend the city's existing residential service and protection plan contract with HomeServe USA Corp for one year while the Department of Public Utilities goes out to bid for replacement vendors.

The extension, introduced as Ordinance 3312025 by Council members Casey and Griffin at the committee meeting on May 8, gives the director of public utilities authority to employ professionals to develop, market and manage a residential service contract and protection plan program and to extend contract PS2020-265 with HomeServe USA Corp for periods not to exceed a total of one year.

The director of the Department of Public Utilities told the committee the current HomeServe program serves roughly 70,000 accounts in the system and covers water-line, sewer-line and other plumbing protection plans. “We have currently serviced, HomeServe, which are serving about 70,000 customers of the Department of Public Utilities for water line sewer line protection, other plumbing protection programs,” the director said. The director said the extension is requested to allow time for a careful bid and an orderly transition so customers receive ample notice if the vendor changes.

Committee members pressed staff on customer protections and program details. Councilman Polensek asked for the list of subcontractors HomeServe uses so the committee can vet who performs local repairs. “I would request through the chair that we could see that list of subs because that might be able to tell us a whole lot of who they're utilizing,” Polensek said.

The director confirmed the department maintains a list of subcontractors and said the department logs and tracks customer complaints and works with HomeServe on issues raised by residents. When asked who a customer should contact if they are dissatisfied with a HomeServe repair, the director said the customer relationship is between the resident and HomeServe but the department fields and logs complaints and connects customers to HomeServe as needed.

Committee members also discussed plan cost and affordability. Staff said plan premiums vary by coverage, generally ranging from about $4 to $8 per month depending on the policy chosen. Councilwoman Spencer asked whether premium affordability will be a factor in the upcoming procurement; the director answered yes, saying affordability is an explicit evaluation criterion.

The committee approved the ordinance. The approval authorizes a one-year extension of the HomeServe contract while the department conducts a competitive procurement and seeks alternative vendors and service models.

The ordinance record shows claims activity under the existing program: staff reported roughly 46,000 claims have been handled and about $20,000,000 in claims have been serviced during the contract period to date. The committee asked staff to return with the subcontractor list and other documentation on service performance to inform the procurement and to consider clearer bill inserts explaining the city's role and the vendor-customer relationship in future mailings.