Until further notice, the county is communicating by phone with village workers operating the plant, according to Chris Wojnicz, assistant sanitary engineer for Warren County.
“We are still the permit holder,” Wojnicz said. “We’re going to continue to work like that until we can get something resolved.”
The plant serves Waynesville, Harveysburg, Corwin and Wayne Twp.
County officials indicated they disagreed with the village’s insistence on coverage of the village workers, pending the change. But the county has contacted its insurer about providing the coverage sought by Waynesville until the plant changes hands.
“It’s not typical,” Wojnicz said. “We’re not sure how they are going to respond.”
The Waynesville Council voted Thursday night to direct the village manager to advise the county it needed to pull its workers from the plant “effective immediately.”
The vote came in response to a decision by the county commissioners not to sign an agreement transferring the plant and its assets from the village to the county, effective Nov. 1.
The date was the product of years of negotiations between the village and county.
Waynesville decided to give up the plant, rather than face costs of updates. Warren County agreed to the takeover in anticipation of expanding needs for service.
The village council passed an ordinance on Sept. 21, setting the stage for county approval and the transfer, effective Nov. 1.
“All terms of the agreement had been settled and the County provided the November 1, 2015 date,” Waynesville Mayor Dave Stubbs said in a written summary of actions taken at Thursday’s special meeting, called in response to the commissioners’ decision not to sign the agreement on Oct. 6.
The commissioners opted against approving the transfer on advice from County Auditor Matt Nolan due to concerns about potential county liability if the county took over the plant before the end of the year.
Nolan said his advice was based on accounting rules, known as GASB 69, that would have left the county responsible for the plant’s entire fiscal year, even though it would only have been in authority for the last two months of the year.
Nolan said state auditors might make findings regarding the plant’s finances, although he is unaware of any financial problems. Still Nolan said he’d prefer if the takeover was delayed until January.
“The county’s bond rating could be affected if they were big enough,” Nolan said Thursday.
Also Thursday, the village council voted to urge the commissioners to place “the previously-agreed-to transfer agreement” on their next meeting agenda “with a blank transfer date.” On Friday, the item had not been added to Tuesday’s meeting agenda.
Once the plant changes hands, the workers will be transferred from village to county employ. Now that is expected to happen on Jan. 2.
About the Author
