MWRD Board Observer Reports

Non-Profit Groups Urge MWRD Board to Modify Proposed Ethics Ordinance

1/16/2020

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
January 9, 2020

The League of Women Voters of Cook County and Friends of the River both spoke in favor of modifying the proposed ethics rules the MWRD is in the process of trying to strengthen. The Ethics Ordinance had been pulled from the agenda due to letters sent by the League and other groups to commissioners, according to Commissioner Cam Davis, so that better language could be used to distinguish commercial interests from public advocacy interests.

The board recognized the plight of Puerto Ricans without drinking water and electricity after earthquakes. Commissioner Garcia had been in touch with his mother in Puerto Rico.

Board Items Discussed and Approved:

A software expenditure was discussed by Commissioner Shore as being very important for the security of a public infrastructure entity like MWRD especially with regard to current events with Iran. Mimecast is a security software that is used to protect public computer systems. She noted it was a small amount of money to pay for computer security. (Agenda Item 19)
Commissioner Garcia asked why MWRD would charge a small farm for use of MWRD land and bio-solids in Blue Island. Due to an ordinance, when a farm wants to sell its produce the MWRD is required to charge the entity rent. (Agenda Item 32)

Agenda Items Deferred or Deleted

Commissioner Davis asked that Bio-Solids Farming contract bids be made smaller so that smaller and minority companies would be able to bid on the contracts. He noted that many small non-profit farms are unable to bid on large contracts due to lack of scale. His argument was noted and future contracts will be smaller. (Agenda Item 13)
An item regarding the furnishing and delivery of liquid carbon dioxide to the Stickney Plant was deleted by the Executive Director. There was no discussion of this item. (Agenda Item 28)

Observed by Amy Little [by video] Meeting length - approximately 50 minutes

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation Board Approves $1.15 Billion 2020 Budget

1/7/2020

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board Meeting
December 19, 2019

Board Actions:

The Board passed its final 2020 budget without discussion while emphasizing that it represents a $70 million or 5.7% decrease from 2019. The estimated tax levy is $652.6 million [up 1.4% from 2019], and full time equivalent employees are down 14 from 2019 at 1,953. This represents no significant change from the budget that was tentatively approved on December 12.
Of interest is where the Corporate Fund money goes [in millions]:
       Construction & Design $254.4 / 23.4%
       Bond Redemption & Interest 233.0 / 21.4%
       Plant Operations & Maintenance 202.6 / 18.6%
       Staff Services 127.8 / 11.8%
       Stormwater Management 116.3 / 10.7%
       Retirement Fund 87.3 / 8.0%
       Claims & Judgments 34.4 / 3.2%
       Monitoring & Research 31.5 / 2.9%

The Board passed a one-year continuation of its intergovernmental agreement with the Cook County Sheriff’s office to continue and expand its very successful drug disposal program of expired and unwanted over the counter and prescription drugs. The purposes of which is to maximize the volume of drugs prevented from reaching and polluting Illinois waterways. Budgeted at $100,000. Commissioners want to expand to city halls and anywhere that dispenses drugs as collection sites. The Sheriff’s office wants to offer a mail back option for the elderly and disabled.

An on-site Mobile and Testing Service Contract was approved, but Commissioner Spyropoulos asked that information regarding the times use, the length of time the District has engaged in this contract, and what other options might be available for drug testing be provided to all commissioners for future consideration.

Published and filed was a report on public notification of significant industrial users having exemplary compliance and records and industrial users significantly violating pretreatment standards or other requirements. Commissioner Garcia asked if penalties could be increased. The Executive Director said staff would check it out.

Observer: Diane Edmundson Meeting Length 90 min.

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MWRD Board Passes $1.15 Billion 2020 Budget - Includes 1.4% Increase in Tax Levy

12/17/2019

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board - Special Meeting
December 12, 2019

In 30 minutes, the Board passed the 2020 Budget which reflected additional changes to the Tentative Budget from November 7. The vote was 8 to 0, with Commissioner McGowan being absent. Following are some highlights:

The total budget is 5.7% ($70 million) less than that for 2019, and reflects a decrease of 14 positions.
The total property tax levy is $652.6 million, up $9.3 million from 2019, a 1.4% increase.
$20 million, the accumulated investment income, is proposed to be transferred to the Retirement Fund to maintain growth in the Retirement Fund’s funded ratio. To make this transfer, a 2/3 vote will be required after March 1.
The District will utilize the one-time revenue from Chicago’s declaration of a TIF surplus for a one-time expenditure of a $10 million upgrade to the Enterprise Resource Planning System.
In addition, $5 million will be reserved and might be used to fund an additional payment to the Retirement Fund if statutory authority is received.

Further changes to the 2020 budget may be considered at the regular Board meeting on December 19, at which time the budget will be finalized.

Observer - Priscilla Mims

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MWRD Commissioners Ask that Contracts and RFPs Be Brought to Them Earlier

12/15/2019

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Annual Meeting, Board Meeting, and Public Hearing on the Proposed 2020 Budget
December 5, 2019

Board Meeting

Several Commissioners expressed frustration that several new contracts or requests for proposals (RFPs) for services under existing contracts set to expire by the end of the year were only coming to the Board now. They asked that such items be brought at least two months ahead of time in the future to allow the Commissioners sufficient time to review the contracts or RFPs and get answers to questions to ensure that there would be no lapse of services. The Executive Director at the end of the meeting said that he understood what was wanted and he and the staff would take steps so this will happen in the future. Among those items,
- RFP for state consultants/lobbyists for the MWRD for 2020. However, don’t expect to award contract until Feb. 20, 2020, almost a month after the State Legislative Session begins. Commissioner Garcia also asked whether further thought had been given to placing all lobbyists under oversight by a single department. This item was passed. (Item 10, File 19-1192)
- Extension of contract which would otherwise expire on Dec. 31 through 2020 for federal consultants/lobbyists. Comm. Spyropoulos asked to defer, but expects will be on Dec. 19 agenda, so no interruption of service. (Item 29, File 19-1186)
- Authority to grant a 25-year easement to Enbridge Energy to continue to operate and maintain a petroleum pipeline. Existing easement expires Dec. 18. Concerns were expressed by Comm. Shore and Davis over the past fines the company has had for spillages and the age of the pipeline (50 years). The MWRD General Counsel said the delay in coming before the Board was due to some extra safeguards that the staff had negotiated in conjunction with this extension, including a $4.5 million letter of credit to cover any problems, as well as inspections of the pipeline. However, none of this information was included in the transmittal letter for this item. Comm. Davis asked to defer this item. (Item 36, File 19-1210)
Other items discussed and approved:
- Authority to issue RFP for rain barrels. Originally MWRD gave away rain barrels pursuant to a consent decree that has expired. Now sell the barrels. Comm. Garcia asked whether MWRD has any info on whether these barrels are actually used (answer was “no”), and suggested that some follow-up be done going forward to ensure this is worthwhile. (Item 16, File 19-1201)
Other items discussed & deferred:
- Payment for 1 employee to attend 10-day residential development program by the Water Wastewater Leadership Center. Several Commissioners wanted to know who else has gone in the past and what is the criteria for selecting the employee. Comm. Garcia requested deferral. (Item 8, File 19-1195)
- Proposed contract with Sun-Times to publish legal notices for 2020. Comm. McGowan asked to defer. (Item 23, File 19-1219)
- Settlement of property loss claim in connection with a sewer backup adjacent to a District manhole that was undergoing emergency repairs. Comm. Shore asked what, if anything, has District learned from this. Comm. Garcia asked to defer. General Counsel advised that settlement must be completed by Dec. 31, or the settlement agreement expired. (Item 35. File 19-1202)

Annual Meeting
Immediately prior to the Board meeting, the Annual Meeting was called to order at which the Board received and filed the Annual Report presented by President Steele. This Report is available at https://mwrd.legistar.com under “Meeting Details” for the Dec. 3, 2019 Annual Meeting. (This meeting had been suspended on Dec. 3 for lack of a quorum and resumed on Dec. 5.)

Public Hearing on the Proposed 2020 Budget
There were no public speakers. Finance Chair Avila, who was presiding, explained that the Civic Federation had written a letter to the Board stating that it would not be reviewing or commenting on the budget as it has in the past.

Observer - Priscilla Mims

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Phosphorous Technology Research Project Discussed at MWRD Board Meeting

11/26/2019

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Board
November 21, 2019
All commissioners were present, and there were no executive or study sessions.

Board Discussion/Action:

Authorization to amend the Master Agreement with the Board of Regents of the Iowa State University to extend the agreement termination date from December 31, 2019 to December 31, 2020. (Agenda Item # 10 - 19-1122) Approved

Commissioners Davis, McGowan, Garcia and Shore pulled this item for discussion.
Commissioner Davis asked how this research, if continued to be authorized, will be used at the O’Brien Plant.
Tom Kunetz, Asst. Director Monitoring and Research, explained that this new phosphorous technology will recover nutrients and place them back in the cycle. It will also replace the use of petroleum products and is more sustainable. Fertilizer pellets may be created in the future from the collection. This contract has been active since 2014. Phases one (three foot high) and two (six foot high) systems were completed. Phase three required a ten foot tall system that would reduce the footprint at the O’Brien Plant that has limited space. This system failed and was redesigned causing a nine month delay. The more robust system is now up and running.
Commissioners du Buclet and Garcia asked if using in-state universities with similar advances had been explored. Executive Director Perkovich stated that University of Illinois, Northwestern, and University of Chicago have been used for other research.
Mr. Kunitz explained that this is technology invented by a professor at Iowa State who holds the patent for his technology. A University of Illinois Professor did develop a system using suspended matter but this was not found to be practical.
Commissioner McGowan asked about the cost during the 9 months while the phase three system was broken down. Mr. Kunetz explained that the cost was for the personnel required for the system redesign.
Commissioner Shore asked if this new ten foot system required more energy. Mr. Kunitz responded that yes, it required a little more but used single digit horsepower.
Commissioner Shore asked: Will the district benefit from or be able to be part of any patent that results from this technology or if it moves to market. Mr. Kunetz responded that during the process our staff in conjunction with Iowa State had discovered a different application for this process. A joint patent application is pending. If it goes to market, there will be benefits.

Commissioner Davis questioned the $86,000 membership dues to National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and how we benefit from our association with them. (Agenda Item # 12 -19-1135) Approved

Executive Director Perkovich said that staff is involved in national committees with NACWA on bio-solids issues. They also help to keep abreast of issues, lobby congress to protect our interests, and are in contact with the EPA.
Commissioner Davis requested a list of coalitions, councils and associations the MWRD belongs and to whom it pays dues.
Commissioner Garcia questioned the make up the NACWA Board of Directors; i.e., does it include minority members. Executive Director Perkovich explained there are 33 board members representing agencies across the country. Members are chosen from the Executive Directors of Waste Management Agencies.

All Consent Agenda Items 1- 46 were approved with the exception of Item 43, which was removed by the Executive Director.

Observed by: Pat Lind Meeting Length: 60 minutes

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MWRD Board Meets with Departments Regarding Proposed 2020 Budget

11/23/2019

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) Commissioners
Special Meeting of MWRD Committee on Budget and Employment
November 7, 2019

The Committee met to consider the Executive Director’s 2020 Budget Recommendations contained in the October 15 book, along with the proposed changes submitted by the Executive Director on October 30, 2019. The initial recommendations and the changes may all be accessed at http://mwrd.legistar.com/calendar.aspx and clicking on the “meeting details” for the entry for this Nov. 7 meeting. The Recommendations as amended were accepted.

Next Steps in Budget Process:

Public Hearing on Dec. 5 at 2 pm
Special Board Meeting on Dec. 12 at 10:30 am to consider further amendments and adopt budget
Board Meeting on Dec. 19 at 10:30 am to consider any further, and final, amendments

Budget Overview (reflecting changes):

Total proposed budget of $1.089 billion, a decrease of 10.9% from 2019.
Total proposed tax levy is $652.6 million, an increase of 1.4% from 2019.
Number of employees (Full Time Equivalents, or FTEs) are 1,953, down by 14 from 2019.

The Commissioners heard from representatives from each MWRD department who presented the overview of that department’s proposed and 2019 budget and employee count, the 2019 operational highlights, and the primary initiatives for 2020. Their slide presentations may also be found at http://mwrd.legistar.com/calendar.aspx. Only a few of the Commissioners asked questions. Here are some of the highlights:

Maintenance & Operations will be issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for marketing and developing biosolids. Plan to hire an outside firm rather than add staff because need to fine new outlets. The changing weather that is bringing more rain increases the costs to the District.
Engineering plans to review contract language and requirements to see if more bids for RFPs might be obtained to ensure the MWRD is getting the most favorable prices.
Stormwater Management averages only 37 days after submission to issue permits. In 2020, the plans are to continue the Addison Creek Reservoir construction and award the Addison Creek Chanel Improvements project to reduce overbank flooding. Commissioner Shore said she remains concerned that the MWRD has had problems spending all of the tax levy for the Stormwater Management Fund in past years, though it appears that that will be done in 2019. She wonders if consideration should be given to contracting outside of the District if Staff cannot generate enough projects internally.
The Monitoring and Research Department had a long list of accomplishments for 2019 and a number of new projects for 2020. The Director explained that the employees are now organized by programs and projects, rather than particular specialties. In the past, if you were in the soil area, you only worked on soil-related projects. This new organization means they can work more efficiently and so will be able to eliminate 6 unfilled positions.
The Law Department expects that the revised Ethics Ordinance will be ready before the end of 2019. Commissioner Davis raised the idea of the Board hiring its own attorney. The General Counsel responded that that could be done, but the Law Department’s client is the MWRD, and the Board is part of the MWRD.
The General Administration Budget is up by $2.8 million over 2019; $2.4 million of which is proposed for a 2% increase in the salaries of non-union employees. Low-flow toilets were installed in the main MWRD building in 2019. Already in 2019 the prescription drug collection program has exceeded the number of pounds of drugs collected and disposed of in 2018.
Public Affairs helped create a road show to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the MWRD, and has a new storybook for children called “Where Does My Poop Go?”!!!
Commissioner Shore asked the Director of Information Technology whether there is a need for a Chief Information Security Officer. Director Sudduth said that he is going to try to recruit someone who could help fill that role, but there is a great demand for qualified people in the private sector at higher salaries He may also look to outside services.
Human Resources has an RFP coming for a compensation and benefits study to be completed in 2020. Commissioner Shore asked that the staff advise what the impact on the budget the parental leave policy has had.
During 2020 the Commissioners and staff will embark on a new 5-year strategic plan.
Commissioner Shore asked whether the MWRD should consider seeking legislation from Springfield that would permit the District to contribute larger amounts to the Pension Fund, particularly when the District has one-time revenues, such as the TIF-surplus that the City of Chicago is releasing to the MWRD and the other government entities.

Observer: Priscilla Mims

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Non-Profit Groups Urge MWRD Board to Modify Proposed Ethics Ordinance

Metropolitan Water Reclamation Board Approves $1.15 Billion 2020 Budget

MWRD Board Passes $1.15 Billion 2020 Budget - Includes 1.4% Increase in Tax Levy

MWRD Commissioners Ask that Contracts and RFPs Be Brought to Them Earlier

Phosphorous Technology Research Project Discussed at MWRD Board Meeting

MWRD Board Meets with Departments Regarding Proposed 2020 Budget

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