Utilities committee approves six Department of Public Utilities ordinances, including $30M sewer bonding and several sole‑source contracts

Cleveland City Council’s Utilities Committee approved six ordinances on Jan. 9 that clear the way for sewer rehabilitation work, equipment‑maintenance contracts and other Department of Public Utilities (DPU) purchases.

The package included an ordinance authorizing the second year of a multi‑year sewer replacement and rehabilitation program that will use bond proceeds and open public procurement for construction and consultant services; several requirement or sole‑source awards for maintenance and replacement of proprietary equipment used by the water and wastewater divisions; authority to exercise an option year for customer care and billing managed services; continued calibration and certification services for drinking water testing equipment; renewal of authority to execute participant agreements for the city’s 800 MHz public safety radio system; and renewal of a requirement contract for AMR/AMR endpoints and mounting kits for water meters.

Why it matters: The sewer ordinance is part of a multi‑year capital plan for the Division of Water Pollution Control. City staff told the committee the division borrowed just under $30 million in 2024 to fund the capital repairs program and expects to spend the funds within three years in compliance with the bond indenture. The other ordinances affect operations the public does not see daily — meter endpoints, laboratory calibration for Ohio EPA reporting, radio communications and equipment repairs — but officials said the goods and services are necessary to keep system operations safe and compliant.

Key details (by ordinance)

- Ordinance 11232024 (sewer replacement and rehabilitation): Authorized DPU to contract for design, construction and professional services for multiple neighborhood sewer projects as the second tier of a five‑year cycle. City staff said the water pollution control division borrowed just under $30 million in 2024 to fund capital repairs; staff expects to expend the bond proceeds within three years and will pursue state and federal grants where available.

- Ordinance 11652024 (Ohio Machinery Company dba Ohio CAT): Authorized a two‑year requirement contract, without competitive bidding, for replacement parts, labor and materials to repair and maintain Caterpillar heavy equipment used by the Division of Water Pollution Control and Cleveland Water. City staff described Ohio CAT as the sole‑source provider in Ohio that honors warranties and performs proprietary repairs. The ordinance includes an amendment updating the vendor proposal date from Sept. 17, 2024, to Dec. 3, 2024. Staff estimated roughly $125,000 per year for water pollution control and $30,000 per year for Cleveland Water, totaling about $310,000 across two years.

- Ordinance 12482024 (Utility Solutions Partners LLC): Authorized the director to exercise the second option to renew the Oracle Customer Care and Billing (CC&B) managed‑services contract. Staff described CC&B as the utility “nerve center” (billing, payments, cashiering and customer contacts). The department budgets roughly $2 million per year for CC&B; staff said the first contract year ran to March 31, 2025, and the office currently reports approximately $1.7 million incurred in that initial year.

- Ordinance 13122024 (Hach Company): Authorized a two‑year requirement contract, without competitive bidding, with Hach Company to provide calibration, preventive maintenance and certification of laboratory and inline process equipment used to test treated drinking water. Staff told the committee correctly calibrated instruments are required for Ohio EPA reporting and that improper calibration could yield incorrect results and risk plant shutdowns.

- Ordinance 13252024 (800 megahertz radio system participant agreements): Created or supplemented codified authority allowing the director of public utilities (or designee) to continue to enter into participant agreements for use of the city’s 800 MHz radio system by suburban and county partners. Staff said the system has matured since its creation, and law department guidance indicated the original legislative authority needed to be restated or supplemented for the director to sign new agreements; the department also said participating suburbs and the county had committed and paid for 2024 participation and that authorizing city signature will allow suburban partners to proceed with their budget approvals.

- Ordinance 13522024 (United Systems and Software Inc. for Itron endpoints): Authorized a two‑year requirement contract, without competitive bidding, for Itron remote endpoints and mounting kits for water AMR endpoints and some handheld devices. Staff said the meter system is proprietary and Itron remains the vendor of record; staff reported that roughly 99.3% of Cleveland utility customer accounts are on the AMR/remote‑read system (approximately 400,000 accounts), with roughly 0.3% remaining who have not accepted the conversion.

Committee process and next steps: Each ordinance was presented by the director of public utilities or staff, discussed briefly by council members and approved on voice vote. Council members asked for clarifications about contract amounts, warranty coverage and executive summary formats; a single amendment (to update a vendor proposal date) was moved by Councilwoman Spencer and seconded and then adopted. Staff did not present itemized roll‑call tallies in the committee; all ordinances “stood approved” during the hearing and were signed up for final council action.

What council members emphasized: Multiple council members thanked DPU staff and commissioners for emergency responses over the winter season. Members also pressed staff for better executive summaries on ordinance packets and asked for routine follow‑up information the committee can use for oversight (for example, the ward‑level distribution of installs and a list of sites/addresses for proprietary equipment purchases). The director and commissioners committed to provide additional documentation to the committee on request.

Ending: The committee closed the legislative portion of the hearing and moved to a public presentation by the nonprofit DigitalC. The approved ordinances will proceed to full council for final action as required by the city’s legislative process.