Board approves three‑month contract to outsource utilities maintenance amid staffing gaps

The Charles City County Board of Supervisors on March 24 voted to approve a three‑month contract with IES to provide on‑site maintenance and operational support for the county's water and wastewater operations.

County Administrator Rogers told the board the contract is a short‑term measure to address staffing vacancies and regulatory compliance. "This contract that is before the board this evening provides, IES will provide 2 staff members to be on call and on‑site for the county to allow us to bring our maintenance of utility operations up to where it needs to be," Rogers said.

Rogers said the cost for the remainder of the fiscal year is approximately $92,000 and that the monthly staffing level would amount to about $30,000 per month. He told the board the funding is available because the department has unfilled salary positions: "The savings generated by those projects not being filled is what allows us to pay for this contract," he said.

Vice Chairman Patterson and other supervisors pressed staff on procurement and vendor alternatives, saying they wanted to see evidence of vetting and other options. Patterson asked, "So and how many months is that until the next fiscal year?" and raised concern that only one company was before the board. Rogers replied that the contract was procured under a cooperative purchasing arrangement from another jurisdiction and that the vendor was the awarded bidder.

Supervisor Patterson said he was not opposed to bringing in qualified help but asked for more competitive options going forward; Rogers said staff would work to provide additional options in future procurements and would revisit the arrangement during the FY27 budget process. The motion to approve the resolution passed with two ayes and one nay (board roll call recorded two affirmative votes and one dissenting vote).