Explanation
This legislation authorizes the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a contract with Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. for operational review and strategic planning consulting services. The consultant will continue a comprehensive operational review and help in the development of a strategic plan.
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) consists of its Director’s Office, which houses sections such as human resources and fiscal, among others, as well as the Divisions of Water, Sewerage and Drainage, Power and Stormwater. In total, DPU employs just over 1,000 full-time equivalent employees. The Department serves a population of approximately 1.2 million through the operation of three water and two waste water treatment plants and maintenance of approximately 3,600 miles of waterline and 4,600 miles of sewers. The Division of Power purchases and distributes power to approximately 17,000 customers and maintains approximately 57,000 streetlights. The Department’s 2023 operating budget, comprised of the enterprise funds for each of the four divisions, is over $750 million and it also has a 6-year capital improvement plan of over $3 billion. The Department’s budget request submitted for fiscal year 2024 is over $828 million.
The first phase of this project included launching and managing the project, stakeholder engagement, and an effective utility management (EUM) 360 scan, which established a baseline of performance against various attributes of effective utility management. Phase two moved from the operational review to the strategic plan phase, and focused on tasks leading to its final development. This last phase will finalize the strategic plan development and move towards implementation.
PROCUREMENT:
The project was formally advertised (RFQ023079) on the Vendor Services and Bonfire websites from October 6, 2022 to November 4, 2022 in accordance with the relevant provisions of Chapter 329 of Columbus City Code. The city received six (...
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