Council questions Division of Water budget increases as city plans lead-service-line work and apprenticeships

Cleveland City Council and the Department of Public Utilities debated the Division of Water’s 2025 operating and capital estimates on Feb. 27, focusing on funding for lead-service-line work, staff augmentation, chemical costs and how the utility uses its cash reserves.

The Division of Water’s unencumbered cash at year-end 2024 was “about a hundred and $70,000,000,” CFO Troy told the committee, and City staff said the five‑year plan anticipates using cash and grants so that the fund ends 2029 with roughly $160 million. Director (Division of Public Utilities) said that decline would be “through capital improvements over those 5 years.”

Council members pressed for details on a roughly $10 million anticipated additional federal lead-removal spending and how the city will ensure quality control by contractors. “We need to make sure that the contractors that we’re hiring to do this work don’t repeat what they did on Brookside anywhere else in the city,” Councilman (name recorded as Chairman in transcript) said, referring to prior street-repair complaints. The director and staff said lead-replacement work will include inspection and communications capacity and will rely on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds; they described the grant mix as about “53% forgivable, 47% payback.”

Staff augmentation and apprenticeship placeholders also drew sustained discussion. The Division has several apprenticeship tracks already (pipe repair, water pollution control, line workers) and staff described early planning for “student trainees” in customer-account services and call-center roles. The director said six trainee positions had been moved from Water to Public Utilities administration and that four student-assistant slots were budgeted for water pollution control in 2025. Council members repeatedly asked for clearer outreach and posting plans so high-school students across neighborhoods can apply.

Chemical costs and storage were highlighted as a major upward pressure. The Division expects to budget roughly $17,000,000 for treatment chemicals in 2025 — “more than double since 2022,” staff said — citing supply-chain disruptions and higher global prices; Manager of Plant Operations Maggie Rogers was quoted in committee testimony saying industry guidance is to budget for “25% increases” in chemicals. Staff noted storage, handling and EPA mandates also increase total program cost.

On separation payments, the director and CFO explained the budget includes capacity for large, lump-sum payouts tied to benefit time when long‑service employees separate. Staff said 67 Division of Water employees have 30+ years of service and the separation reserve was developed using historical liabilities; a council member observed the budget shows about $880,000 as a worst‑case payout if all those employees separated.

Council members also sought more transparency on capital outlay presentation: staff explained the accounting system shows transfers to capital projects in a summarized line and said they will provide detailed rollups for 2022–2024 capital spending and the lines behind the $60 million capital figure in the 2025 book.

The budget book lists steps staff plan to take to coordinate lead line work with street reconstruction and other utilities to avoid repeated street disruptions; staff said lessons from Brookside and joint-planning examples in Council Member Spencer’s ward will guide contractor selection and sequencing.

The committee requested additional documentation and follow-up: itemized professional-services and grant breakdowns for lead work, a contractor‑selection/oversight plan, the capital-outlay detail for prior years, and the outreach/recruiting plan and head‑count timeline for the apprenticeship/student‑trainee slots.

Ending: The Division of Water’s 2025 budget was advanced for further review; council members asked for supplemental spreadsheets and planned follow-up hearings on capital allocations, apprenticeship outreach and quality controls for lead-line contractors.