Dowagiac will make $30,000 in each of the next two years managing the Cassopolis Area Utilities Authority (CAUA).

The city will be responsible for providing administrative, accounting and field service administration as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) City Council approved Tuesday night.

It is anticipated that significant cost savings will occur through modernization of records, shared purchasing, budgeting, improved capital planning and other strategic initiatives.

Terms of the five-year agreement with an option to renew include $600 increases each year in the third, fourth and fifth years and one-year notice for non-renewal or termination.

CAUA encompasses the sewer system serving Cassopolis, Vandalia and Diamond and Donnell lakes.

The Village of Cassopolis will continue to provide “O&M,” or sewer system operations and maintenance.

“What they’ve found is that they have a gap in what’s being provided. That is a level of management that can help them budget, deal with field operations and contracts, with bidding and with general policy development so they can take that next step as a utility,” City Manager Kevin Anderson said. “They’ve asked us as a city to consider providing that service for them. Cassopolis will still do O&M, the basic trench work.”

Additional duties will be spread across several city departments, Anderson added.

By working closer with Cassopolis public works crews, “We’ll have some overlap when emergency situations could arise. It will help keep us in compliance with EVIP (Economic Vitality Incentive Program) projects the state is pushing.”

Dowagiac Daily News