State auditor suggests cost-saving steps for Niles

NILES

State Auditor Dave Yost said Niles could save $4.4 million dollars annually if all the recommendations in a performance audit released Thursday were adopted, but the city’s mayor said he has no interest in implementing at least one of them.

State auditors recommended the city “explore other, more cost-effective, regional opportunities for procuring its water supply” from a supplier other than the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District because “the rate charged to Niles may not be regionally competitive.” In a news release, Yost said the city could save nearly $1.6 million a year by finding another water supplier or renegotiating with MVSD.

Mayor Ralph Infante would have none of it.

“They have to remember that Niles and Youngstown are the owners of MVSD and we’re doing a lot of improvements,” Infante said. “We’re paying higher, but it’s a good quality of water.

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