Highway supervisor fighting proposed road service deal with Naperville
Naperville Township Highway Commissioner Stan Wojtasiak is conferring with an attorney, an engineer and accountants to point out problems he sees with the city of Naperville's proposal to provide services for the 16 miles of roads his district maintains.
Wojtasiak says the proposal would make "drastic cuts" to the road and landscape services residents receive from the township road district.
He disputes the city's claim it can provide a similar level of service for roughly $800,000 less a year than the $1.86 million Wojtasiak's department spent in fiscal 2015. And next week, he plans to schedule a meeting to discuss his concerns with the city.
City Manager Doug Krieger said only "insignificant" changes have been made to the city's proposal since it was put forward in early February in response to a report from Gov. Bruce Rauner's task force on government consolidation and unfunded mandates.
"We're waiting for someone to point out specifics associated with what's wrong with the numbers," Krieger said.
In an agreement that could begin July 1 and run until March 31, 2021, the city would provide road, streetlight and sewer maintenance, snow plowing, street sweeping, curb and sidewalk replacement, mosquito abatement, leaf and brush collection, emerald ash borer treatment, forestry and mowing at a set cost each year.
"It looks like a bona fide, good-faith offer that should absolutely be entertained by the road district," Township Supervisor Rachel Ossyra said. "I think it would be a great benefit to all of the residents in the township."
A shorter list of services - excluding brush collection, emerald ash borer treatment, mosquito abatement, road repairs and sidewalk work - would cost $482,273 between July 1 and March 31, 2017. Prices for a full year of all services range from $1,003,141 to $1,066,291.
Wojtasiak's tentative budget for the next fiscal year is $1.6 million. The spending plan is set to be discussed during a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the township building, 139 Water St., Naperville. But Wojtasiak recently made a move to cut his budget by using a quirk of township code to ask for his entire salary and benefits of roughly $114,000 to be paid from the township supervisor's money instead of his. Township code specifies the salaries for all elected officials should be paid by the supervisor's administrative budget. But Wojtasiak and Ossyra both said the highway commissioner is allowed to pay up to 50 percent of his salary and benefits from his district's money if he so chooses.
Wojtasiak said he had made agreements with Ossyra and the two township supervisors who preceded her that he would cover half his compensation. In a letter to Ossyra dated March 11, he rescinded that agreement effective April 1 - when the township's new budget year begins.
"She's trying to put me out of business, so why on earth should I contribute to her budget," said Wojtasiak, who plans to retire when his term ends next spring.
Ossyra said the move came as a surprise after she already had laid out the township's proposed spending of $2.2 million.
"I had assumed covering only half of his salary," Ossyra said. "It's an extra $57,000 that I legally have to cover in the budget. I don't want to lay off any of my staff and I might have to squeeze our social services, which is very unfortunate."
While Ossyra said she supports the idea of paying city crews to maintain township roads, she and the township board can't approve the deal. Only Wojtasiak can because the road district is a separate unit of government.
Wojtasiak has opposed the agreement, saying it would make his position nearly obsolete. It also could leave some of his six employees - four equipment operators, one foreman/mechanic and one administrative assistant - without a job.
Krieger said the city could hire as many as three of the equipment operators to maintain the 16 additional miles of streets, which include a portion of 87th Street and Plainfield/Naperville Road, streets in the Aero Estates and Green Acres subdivisions, and others including Lawnmeadow Lane, Berry Court, Thornapple Drive and Wild Cherry Road.
The proposed road services agreement next will be discussed during the city council's meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the municipal center at 400 S. Eagle St. and during the township's annual town meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 12, at the road district office, 31W331 North Aurora Road, Naperville. No final action is expected at either meeting.