PECATONICA MAKES ILLINOIS HISTORY
BY PRIVATIZING ALL PUBLIC WORKS FUNCTIONS

The Village of Pecatonica is making Illinois history by becoming the first municipality in the State to contract all public works functions with a single-source private company.

The benefits to Pecatonica's citizens-taxpayers are immediate and far-reaching, according to Mayor Edward Smith.

Scope of the work being contracted with Environmental Management Corporation (EMC) includes immediate and continuing repair and maintenance of all streets and alleys, purification and distribution of all drinking water, and the collection and treatment of all wastewater, Mayor Smith said.

According to Mark Herbig, chair of the Village's water and sewer committee, EMC will be responsible for daily maintenance of all public works facilities and equipment while also immediately purchasing necessary safety equipment for the Village, computerizing record keeping, mapping the existing sewer and water mains and prioritizing capital improvement projects.

EMC also is committed to cleaning one-fifth of the Village's sewage collection system every year . . . and cleaning the entire system once every five years, according to Herbig. Most communities fail to clear or to clean their sewage collection system at all, Herbig said.

EMC is committed to employing the current village employees and to treat them fairly, the Mayor said.

Pecatonica and EMC signed the formal contract Wednesday, June 1. In addition to the formal contract, Mayor Smith and the President of EMC, Michael McKee, also issued and signed a public challenge to each other for the public-private partnership to improve the infrastructure and the level of services for the Village and for village citizens.

The public-private partnership challenge also was extended to other Illinois communities who might be interested in developing their own public-private partnerships, McKee said.

"Pecatonica truly is on the cutting edge of government re-defining itself as we move toward the 21st century," McKee said. "Municipal officials throughout Illinois and the Midwest will be watching what we do as a team here in Pecatonica," McKee added, "and for our part, EMC welcomes the challenge to perform beyond the Mayor's aggressive expectations."

The Pecatonica/EMC agreement calls for an annual budget about equal to the Village's current expenditures for all functions being privatized, according to the Mayor, but the Village is guaranteed to receive — immediately — more expertise, more equipment and more service than had been available to the community and its citizens.

EMC will assume all of the responsibilities connected with the drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities, while the Village retains ownership of all physical facilities and equipment, according to Smith,

"Pecatonica taxpayers now are the first in Illinois to have a true win-win situation," Smith said in announcing the Village's decision to contract with EMC. "Taxpayers are guaranteed the best possible service from all aspects of their public works department, the Village is assured environmental compliance and the Village is guaranteed a firm, fixed price for all of the service . . . plus we'll have new safety equipment and training which our public employees truly need and deserve."

Tom Glendenning, public works director for Pecatonica, cited the broad range of expertise and technical resources that will be available to the Village from EMC.

Privatization of municipal public works departments and projects is becoming more popular throughout the country, but is just moving into the Midwest, according to McKee.

"Nationwide, there is a growing trend toward unleashing the energy and efficiency of the private sector to provide or to improve services once considered the province of government," McKee recently told a national group meeting in Chicago to consider the benefits of privatizing public works services.

EMC, with a base of operations in a number of Illinois communities including Bourbonnais, Morton, Monmouth, Lincoln, Mt. Vernon, Collinsville, West Frankfort, Metropolis, Jacksonville and Jerseyville, is headquartered in St. Louis.

August 1994 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 5