Sedalia approves hiring two water-department staff, moves funds to cover positions

The Sedalia City Council on July 7 approved a budget amendment and ordinance to add two full-time positions in the water department to perform small, as-needed repairs in-house. City staff told the council that the department had contracted out smaller repairs since 2017 but the most recent rebid produced no responses and the current contractor notified the city of an upcoming rate increase. Staff estimated annual contracted street-repair labor would rise to approximately $125,000 if the city continued outside contracting. To transition the work in-house, staff recommended hiring two full-time employees. The estimated cost for the remainder of the budget year, including benefits, was $91,653.42. Staff proposed moving $54,953.42 from the repair budget and amending salary appropriations by $36,700 to fund the positions through year-end; although this increases the current-year budget, staff projected about $90,000 in savings in the next fiscal year by eliminating contracting costs and improving efficiency. Council approved Resolution No. 21-34 and passed Bill No. 2025-113, an ordinance amending the fiscal-year 2026 budget concerning water-department staffing additions, on final passage.