Munising Extends Public Works Privatization

MUNISING—The city commission in this Upper Peninsula community voted in August to allow the city's Department of Public Works to be run by a private firm under a trial contract agreement. Extending an earlier contract that allowed Earth Tech Operation Services of Grand Rapids to

manage the city's wastewater treatment plant, the commission has now added the position of public works supervisor to the agreement.

Predictably, union officials representing the AFSCME local disputed the projected cost savings. City officials believe, however, that the program will eventually save substantial sums because of the inclusion of "preliminary engineering, advisory services, staff training programs, quality assurance, and sludge management in the fixed costs of Earth Tech's services," according to The Daily Mining Gazette.