The council has been working for five years to amend an 1892 law that created the water department as a mostly autonomous entity that raises operating money through fees.
CHICOPEE - A request to clarify the ordinance which would merge the water department into the department of public works may result in the City Council dumping the entire project.
"We are pretty well divided on doing anything," City Councilor James K. Tillotson said. "We have to convey to the mayor there is mixed feelings about this."
The council has been working for five years to amend an 1892 law that created the water department as a mostly autonomous entity that raises operating money through fees.
Chicopee Mayor Michael Bissonnette wants to place the city's water department under the supervision of the the department of public works. The project began when Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette proposed placing the water department under the supervision of public works to make the two more efficient. The plan also calls for the water department to move into the public works headquarters on Baskin Drive.
The City Council voted 12-1 in February to change the law and petitioned the state legislature for its approval. Last week State Rep. Joseph F. Wagner requested a meeting with the council and mayor, saying the proposal needed clarification before it is voted on by lawmakers.
The current law gives the Water Commission, which is appointed by the mayor, the authority to oversee the work of the water superintendent, set rates, grant abatements and control the enterprise fund where fees are deposited.
Under legal interpretations received by Bissonnette, the new law would preserve the commission's right to set rates, grant abatements and control the enterprise fund, but put the supervision of the day-to-day operations into the hands of the public works superintendent.
Interpretations Wagner received from lawyers said the City Council would be able to decide who controls all water department functions through ordinance changes that can be made any time through majority votes.
A meeting Monday night with Bissonnette, several state lawmakers and the council's ordinance committee grew heated at times, with Bissonnette and Wagner arguing about different details.
Saying there were too many "gray areas" in the ordinance, Wagner called for modifications that would clarify details.
"The rate structure and abatement structure could be amended in ways I do not know," he said. "My interest in this is to make sure rate payers are protected."
While he disagreed, Bissonnette recommended adding clauses that would specifically say that the commission would retain the authority to do things such as set rates.
"If intent and the language does not match up it is hard for us to move forward," State Sen. James T. Welch, D-West Springfield said.
To make changes, the City Council will first have to rescind its February vote and adopt a new one. That new law would have to be passed onto the legislature, Tillotson said.
The City Council agreed it would work on clarifying the issue, but after Bissonnette and the state legislators left, members questioned if they should change the law at all.