MAWC management contract extended with $5 million raise

An Allegheny County based private management company will get a $5 million raise to help run operations for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County over the next decade.

A new deal with Resource Development and Management Inc. comes five years into the company’s existing 10-year $13.8 million pact, which was signed in 2016 and was to run through 2025. RDM now will be paid $19.5 million through 2030, according to the contract MAWC board members approved Wednesday.

“We’ve always opened up the RDM contract early and we believe we get the best price this way,” said Randy Roadman, chairman of the authority board. “Over the last 29 years, they’ve provided consistent management that’s always been good for us.”

RDM currently provides a full-time manager and business manager to the authority as well as additional support staff. It will assign a third administrator directly to the authority as part of the revised deal. The new contract is structured to pay RDM $1.5 million in 2021, the same amount it received this year.

Roadman said no other management firms were contacted or considered. He touted the authority’s expansion over its nearly three-decade relationship with the company. Since 2015, the authority has added about 20,000 new customers and grown its staff by 42, officials said.

The authority operates three water treatment plants and serves more than 120,000 customers in five counties. It also runs a separate sewer collection service with more than 28,000 customers.

“The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is one of the best authorities in the country. We want to make sure we have them under contract and keep it going,” Roadman said.

RDM president Brian Hohman, who also serves as the authority’s business manager, said the new contract is justified by the company’s performance that, in the last five years, saw the utility invest $425 million to upgrade its water distribution and sewer collection systems, replace old pipes and enhance its technology.

“RDM is very grateful for the vote of confidence. The company has a long history with the authority and we feel we’ve accomplished a lot of great things,” Hohman said.