Plumbers Bring Complaints To WWTA; Told New Contracts Are Ready

  • Friday, July 3, 2015

Several plumbers on Thursday brought complaints to a committee of the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA) and got little response other than being told that new contracts are ready.

Kay Keefe of Keefe Plumbing said the small number of plumbing companies still participating in the program to repair leaky lines to homes, have long been operating without a contract, are not paid enough and not paid promptly.

Billy Cooper, WWTA board member who heads the committee, said a panel headed by another board member, Mike Moon, had earlier dealt with the plumber issues.

He said requests for qualifications were sent out and returned by eight plumbing firms.

Attorney Chris Clem said the contracts "are ready to be signed."

Ms. Keefe said after the meeting, that was attended by County Mayor Jim Coppinger, "There is no reason they can’t reconsider some of the aspects of their new contract. The WWTA is not interested in working with the plumbers. It is my understanding that some of the plumbers will refuse to sign the new contract. This will create a larger work load for the plumbers that do sign the new contract.

"I personally feel that the WWTA has designed the new contract so the plumbers will fail. I mentioned that we have heard rumors that they are planning to bring in an outside contractor. Chris Clem smiled  when I said that. The WWTA is taking in around 3 million dollars a year in PSLP fees. If they bring in an outside contractor that money will leave the Hamilton County area. The money collected from Hamilton County resident for this program should stay in Hamilton County.

"I find it amazing that no one in that room - not the mayor or the commissioners that attended - have a problem with the fact that WWTA is sending plumbers out today and will continue to send plumbers out until they get a new contract without valid bonds or a valid contact. This seem like a liability for the Hamilton County WWTA as well as the homeowners."

Ms. Keefe read this statement at the meeting:

We have been in front of the WWTA PSLP committee 2 times in the last 2 ½ years. Today will make the 3rd time. We appreciate the 13% raise and the change to the gravel requirements that came out of the last meetings.

There are still several problems with the new PSLP contract that we would like to address.

Old Contract:

We have been working without a contract. In fact, the bonds that were obtained at the beginning of the Pilot program expired in 2012. They cannot be renewed without a new valid contract. I have requested from the WWTA open records a copy of the contracts that Chris Clem insinuated my company signed in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. These records cannot be produced because they do not exist. Hamilton County is sending plumbers on its behalf to do work on private property without a contract and bonds in place.

OLD Contract pricing:

OLD PSLP contract pricing should no longer be in effect for any jobs from 2013 forward. The last raise the plumbers received was 3-17-2011. We should have received a raise in 2012. Any unfinished work from 2013 forward should be at an increased rate. We have been told that “WWTA does not encourage or reward the plumbers who still have incomplete jobs going back several years”. There are only 8 plumbers left in the program working on the old contract.  There were originally 27 plumbers in the pilot program. This has created a larger amount of emergency call out work for the remaining plumbers. The remaining plumbers are essentially being financially punished due to low participation. As an example my company responded to approximately 95 emergency calls in the last fiscal year. Had the WWTA renewed the contract annually as is customary and opened it up to other plumbers we believe there would be a higher participation rate. We have been asking about a new contract for years.

Point Repairs:

There should be a minimum payment on point repairs. We lose money on point repairs. We are proposing a minimum of $600.00 on all point repairs. We cannot respond to emergency point repairs knowing we are going to lose money.

Camera Pricing:

The new contract pricing for Phase 2 proposes $0.64 per linear foot. This would pay $59.60 for a 40’ sewer.  The new contract pricing for Phase 4 proposes $0.43 per linear foot. This would be $42.70 for a 40’ sewer. Most of the sewer lines we encounter are between 40 and 50 feet long. This does not cover the wages for the camera crew. It also doesn’t cover the equipment. The sewer cameras that WWTA requires the plumbers to use cost approximately $8,000.00 to $10,000.00. We need to be paid for our equipment which has to be maintained and regularly serviced.  Chris Clem stated that the WWTA is “currently paying about $138.00 for the plumbers to camera a customer at the beginning and again at the end of each project.” We are not currently video inspecting the line at the end of the each project. This was supposed to have been done by Hamilton County WWTA. We are being asked to take a cut in pay for the camera work.

Time Frame:

The new contract requires the sewer line replacements to be done within 10 working days of the emergency call out. The old PSLP pilot program allowed for 4 weeks. We are required to call TN ONE Call for underground utility locations. It takes TN ONE Call three (3) business days to locate the utilities. That trims the 10 days down to 7. Weather is also a factor in the time frame in which a replacement can be done. When we put our backhoes and trac hoes on the Hamilton County residents lawns after any amount of precipitation it causes damage and mess to the lawns. The homeowners will never be happy with their yards. If our customers are the primary concern then this should be changed to a more reasonable time frame. It will cost the plumbers additional money in wages to get the yards fixed. This makes replacing theses sewers less profitable and it is an unreasonable timeframe. This requirement sets the new contract up for failure.  This goal cannot be achieved with only 8 plumbers.

Over Time:

We have repeatedly asked about overtime compensation on emergency call outs. We are required to pay our employees overtime wages for any time worked over 40 hours, any time worked after hours (after 5PM), and any weekend and holiday work. The WWTA pays its employees overtime wages in theses circumstances. They expect us to work after hours and on weekends and holidays for straight time. We are asking to be compensated for all emergency call outs after 5 PM, all weekend emergency work and all holiday emergency work. We all receive emergency calls after 5PM and on weekends and holidays.

Traffic Control:

We are professionals and conduct our businesses in accordance with the safety requirements of TDOT and TOSHA. When we do jobs that require traffic control or safety equipment that we have to rent we factor that cost into our bids and contracts. There are times when we have to rent traffic control signs, flashers, and flagmen to complete the PSLP work. We are not compensated for this expense under the old and new PSLP contracts. We would be paid for these items under any other circumstances.

Asphalt & Concrete:

WWTA pays for asphalt and concrete replacement by the linear foot.  Asphalt and concrete contractors charge by the square foot. We have pointed this out several times over the years. We consistently lose money on concrete and asphalt repairs.

Gray Areas:

The new contract does not address all the gray areas we encounter on PSLP jobs. It would help the plumbers and the RPRs work better together if we had these issues addressed up front. For example, when we encounter a water line in the ditch with the sewer line, (which is often), who is going to pay for the water line which normally has to be taken out of the way to allow for the sewer line replacement? The homeowners don’t feel like they should pay for this because the water lines were in place prior to the PSLP work. The WWTA doesn’t want to pay for the water lines either. This leaves the plumbers in the middle. We are expected to pay for this ourselves which isn’t fair.

Bushes and landscaping are often on top of the sewer lines. We take utmost caution and care not to damage these items but at times it can’t be avoided. We are expected to pay for these items should damage occur. An example of this would be an emergency replacement during freezing weather. When we remove a bush from on top of a sewer line during freezing weather and then place it back, the bush almost always dies. 

Payment:

We need to be paid in full for the work we have invoiced within 45 days. The prompt pay act of 1985 requires payment within 45 days after receipt of invoice. The same act allows the payment of interest at 1 ½% per month beginning the day after payment is due. We receive payment approximately every 30 days from WWTA. However, we are often not paid in full within 30 days. When we call WWTA to inquire about not receiving payment for the invoices over 30 days old, we are told that paperwork is missing from the RPRs. This problem must be fixed going forward.

 

There are 127 licensed master plumbers in Hamilton County. Only 8 RFQ packets were turned in.  The master plumbers in Hamilton County could benefit from this contract and get the work completed. It has been rumored that WWTA plans to bring outside contractors in to complete the work. This would not benefit the citizens of Hamilton County. The money involved in this contract needs to stay in Hamilton County.  If the WWTA was willing to work with the plumbers and try to resolve these issues, it would benefit all involved. The fact that only 8 master plumbers turned in the RFQ packets should be an indicator that the new contract needs to be changed. If this work was more profitable and the WWTA was reasonable to work with there would be more plumbers participating in the program. We are willing to work with the WWTA and have been asking for a fair contract for years.

We are plumbers which is an honorable trade. We are small business owners. We are trying to make an honest living and pay our employees a decent wage so they can support their families.  We have been taking care of the sewer lines of Hamilton County residents for many years prior to the WWTA PSLP program. The WWTA has inserted themselves between the plumbers and our customers. The WWTA has taken away the rights of numerous licensed plumbers to clean and repair sewer lines. We are being forced to participate in an unfair program if we want to continue serving OUR customers. WWTA has forced some honorable Hamilton County plumbers out of the program. It is discouraging to go out on a PSLP job knowing there is a possibility we will lose money. It is a slap in the face when we read of the exorbitant raises recently given to the WWTA director and members of his staff.

 

 

 

 

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