Utilities Department Change Will Save Manchester Money, Mayor Promises

MANCHESTER, NJ — The Manchester Township Council has rescinded an ordinance approved in August 2022 that created a separate Department of Utilities, making those duties once again part of the public works.

It's a move that Mayor Robert Arace promises will save the township money in the long run.

The change puts the utilities division back under the supervision of public works director Al Yodakis, with a $15,000 addition to his salary for overseeing the utilities division, a position he had held from 2016 until last summer. Yodakis had a salary of $186,389 in 2022.

It also means the township has to hire an outside firm again to provide someone with the proper license to fill the regulatory officer role for the water and sewer utilities, as required by state law.

The council approved a resolution awarding a contract to Water Resource Management, the same firm it used in 2021 and for most of 2022, for the services of John Manganaro, who holds the required licenses. The 2023 contract will pay Water Resource Management $234,000, according to the resolution.

Manchester paid Water Resource Management $207,588.75 in 2020 and $208,436.75 in 2021; in 2022, the company was paid $182,000 for 10 months and Van Cleef Engineering Associates was paid $53,312 for two months of supervisory service.

"The intent is still to have the third-party vendor removed," Arace said.

The regulatory officer is required to have what Yodakis referred to as a Class 3 license, which has a number of certifications. Manchester does not have any employees who have that level of licensing.

Yodakis said the issue with creating the director of utilities with the goal of hiring someone to fill that regulatory role is the regulatory officer is mandated to be at the water plant a majority of their work hours, which he said would have interfered with the role of supervising the department.

Yodakis said the township still would have needed a second position meet the needs of the regulatory officer and the supervisory work, with extra salary and benefits costs.

To bring the regulatory officer position back into the township, there is a staff member who is working to obtain the Class 3 license, Yodakis said.

That staff member, whom Yodakis did not name, has a Class 2 license and has two more tests to pass before achieving the Class 3 license.

"Then we can eliminate the consultant," he said. "This lets us leverage a wealth of experience."

Yodakis did not provide a timeframe on how long it will take to get through the licensing.