• Discontinue Grade 5 employees and one Grade 6 employee driving vehicles home, saving $16,413

• Salaried employees to begin paying larger portion of insurance coverage, saving $11,759

• New city of Athens Water Department agreement and purchase points, saving $114,812

Eight of nine OK’d

The board approved eight of the nine proposed measures, omitting the $48,000 cut in Cole’s lobbying services.

While the board had already engaged CDPA to conduct the 2008 autit at an uncapped fee of $40,000, the board sent out requests for letters of proposal to five CPA firms in accordance with the sixth of the nine proposed measures.

CDPA proposed doing the audit for $30,000. Of the five requests for proposal, one firm declined, one was higher and two were lower than CDPA. One firm, Dyer & Smith of Huntsville, proposed doing the 20008 audit for just $5,000. Professional services are not bound by the state’s competitive bid law, and the board voted 4-to-1 to remain with CDPA. Alton Robison cast the lone dissenting vote.

Interim General Manager Smith said Friday that the hiring of in-house engineer Melissa Green is showing financial results.

“Hiring Melissa was a great asset to our team,” said Smith. “She handles all the line extension work and is our liaison with the County Commission. She coordinates work with the contractors on small jobs. We are in the process of bringing our water model in house (monitors usage) and she will be over that. Inspectors are under her and she is working to get them all educated and understand the jobs they are doing.”

Smith said engineers Hethcoat & Davis of Nashville are still employed to work on large capital projects.

In further reductions, salaried employees who previously paid just $1 toward medical insurance coverage, are now required to pay $99 per month.

“That $1 really should have been looked at before,” said Smith. “We may have to look at asking salaried people to pay more for coverage. I feel strongly that salaried people should pay their fair share of insurance costs.”

Smith said she had also discussed a cutback with the three vendors who provide professional services, Cole, CDPA and Hethcoat & Davis. “I let them know we’ll be very conservative in our use of them to cut expenses,” she said.

Smith said she monitors overtime expenses.