MLGW outlines $20 million in contracts, no committee vote required

Memphis Light, Gas and Water presented a fiscal consent package to the Memphis City Council committee on Oct. 21, explaining $20 million in proposed spending that would bring the utility’s total approvals for the year to about $688 million. The presentation described contracts for substation engineering, pumping-station electrical upgrades, replacement valves and filters at a water pumping station, advisory services, and a set of information-services staffing contracts.

Doug McGowan, president of Memphis Light, Gas and Water, told the committee the package includes a $1,250,000 renewal for Fisher & Arnold, Inc., which provides substation engineering work; replacement switchgear for the Sheehan Pumping Station; actuator and filter work at the McChord Pumping Station; $225,000 for Gartner advisory services to support cybersecurity and benchmarking; and roughly seven professional-staffing contracts for information-services work that together represent about 99 contract workers supporting the utility’s IT projects. McGowan said about half of the package covers contracted workforce for IT and related specialized services, and that the contractors are local hires engaged through third-party staffing firms.

McGowan described the utility’s approach to staffing as project-driven flexibility: contract specialists are brought on for discrete tasks rather than adding permanent in-house positions for short-duration needs. He also described a temporary-employment services contract to provide short-term craftsmen and trades workers to cover short-term vacancies or leave. The committee asked no substantive follow-up questions and no vote was required for the consent presentation.