Cortez Sanitation District board members discussed the 2017 budget and the search for a new district manager at their meeting Monday.
Board member Terri Thomas was absent from the meeting. The draft 2017 budget includes a $1 raise in rates for sanitation customers, as well as planning for several upcoming sewer projects, Interim Manager Phil Starks said. The district is planning for a sewer project at Sikis Village, but that project depends on the removal of a tree outside the district’s right of way, Starks said. The budget also includes planning for sewer work at Carpenter Natural Area, in order to have that project eligible for grant funding in 2018.
The budget does not include costs for employee healthcare or a new manager’s salary, because those numbers are still being finalized, Starks said. The draft budget will be advertised and a public hearing will be held at next month’s district board meeting Nov. 14. It will be up for final review in December.
The board also discussed the interview process for hiring a new district manager. Starks has been interim manager since former manager Tim Krebs died May 20. Board President Ryan Griglak said the district has received four or five applications for the position.
Griglak proposed setting two panels of three people to assist with the interview process. The panelists would ask candidates interview questions both about administrative and technical aspects of the job. The panels would be made up of people with expertise in those areas. The board set a date of Nov. 29 to interview the job candidates.
Two new members were appointed to the board at a special meeting last month: James Fisher and Ernest Maness. Former members Tim Robinson and Dylan Ferguson resigned because they moved out of the district.
Also Monday, board members approved a third pay request to D&L Construction for the Ash Street project, in the amount of $59,844. Maness voted to approve the pay request, but he is a sub-contractor on the project. The board also approved a pay request to Ortec in the amount of $30,801 for software costs.