Report: Save $1.5 million with DuPage takeover of water agency

An internal DuPage County report estimates $1.5 million could be saved annually if the county took control of the embattled DuPage Water Commission.

The report estimates that cutting four administrative or staff positions along with benefits would save between $600,000 and $750,000. Other savings would come from bulk purchasing, reducing third-shift operations to an automated emergency call-out system and eliminating excessive outside legal fees.

The report appears to bolster proposed legislation going through both statehouse chambers that calls for the county's takeover of the water commission's operations.

County board member Paul Fichtner, finance committee chairman, requested the staff-produced report. He said the county board has taken no position on the twin proposed bills introduced by state Rep. Randy Ramey and state Sen. Dan Cronin. Cronin won the Republican Party's county board chairman nomination in February.

"The cost factor is only one part of this discussion," Fichtner said. "When there's a cost impact involved in the county we just want to see what that is."

The water commission provides Lake Michigan water to more than two dozen municipalities and agencies in DuPage. A forensic audit of the commission's finances recently revealed mismanagement and faulty accounting procedures had led the commission to spend nearly all of its $69 million reserves. The legislation was proposed in the wake of the report's release.

The commission is governed by 13 members made up of seven appointees from the county -including the chairman's post - and six members appointed the municipal water customers. Many municipal leaders served by the commission oppose the legislation, and lobbyists have recently been hired to fight the bills.

Addison Mayor Larry Hartwig is a water commission board member and opposes the state bills. He said the county's savings report "was not serious."

"That's not somebody drilling down and seeing what the real cost savings are," Hartwig said. "My response to Paul when I saw that was, 'Just think of the savings would be, following that same logic, if Cook County took over operations of DuPage County.'"

The report cuts the general manager's post, staff attorney, financial administrator and geographic information system coordinator and assumes the work would be farmed out to current county employees, Hartwig said.

"There must be people at the county with nothing to do right now waiting for something to be given to them to work on if they can handle these jobs," Hartwig argued. "The problem is the work done at the commission isn't like anything the county already does."

At least one mayor whose town is served by the commission favors the county takeover of the commission. Downers Grove Mayor Ron Sandack said no one is accountable under the commission's current governance structure. He said putting the county board in charge of the commission would not be detrimental.

"We serve the same constituents," Sandack said. "There's no reason for a DuPage Water Commission anymore. There's no reason for any government with built-in redundancies and inefficiencies."

Cronin's bill is poised for a final vote in the state Senate, but when that vote may occur is unknown.