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04/05/2007 09:38 12186855272 MN RURAL WATER PAGE 02 Operator Succession Planning 101 By Cindy Cook, MDH Certification Officer "Estimates show that 40% of the water and wastewater utility workforce will be eligible to retire in the next five years." American Water Works Association Journal, September 2006 The time has come for communities to implement a succession plan to provide for replacement operators. City officials need to have a plan that includes provisions for a decent salary and benefits in order to attract an operator in a highly competitive job market. It's essential to have a solid technical and financial operator succession plan for the future, not a temporary plan such as contracting with a nearby town or paying some- one afew bucks cash to stop by a couple times per month. Replacing the fu1L-time qualified operator with apart-time or unqualified one is an irresponsible action. Some local officials have been Ialown to try to get their in-law, cousin, or some other dubious relative that's not qualified for the job, certified. MDH gets calls from mayors, council members, or clerks almost every day asking what they should do now that the local operator has retired. Most of them don't realize that Water and Wastewater operation is an advanced profession that requires necessary skill, thorough training, and on-the job experience. continued on page 7 Operator Succession Planning 101 (continued from ~overPaBe) i his is how the conversation usually goes: ~) We tell them no, their newly hired, inexperienced, part-time operator cannot take the exam; 2) T ey tell us how two people on staff is too expensive, the city couldn't afford to have the previous operator trai the new person prior to retirement; 3) We tell them they have 90 days to come up with an appropriately cert fied opera- tor or face a potential fine. up to $10,000 (now that's expensive); 4) Silence; 5) We let them know eir options, such as contracting or hiring an appropriately certified operator; 6) And if their corriznuzuty wants t contract with a certified operator, that person has tv visit the system several times per week, the city still has to have a local operator in training, and we require a copy of the contract to verify the terms, all within 90 da s; 7) At that point, zrtost communities quickly realize the value of a water professional that has necessary s ' 1, thor- ough training, and on-the job experience. A solid succession plan requires that a community hire and train someone at least a ycaz or two (or ore) in advance; send operators to training courses (most of them are free); and pay them well enough tog the nec- essary skills, knowledge, and abilities for the job. Not only is having a certified operator important in making sure drinking water is safe, it's the law. f your employer balks at getting you the staff you need to get work done, or doesn't have a succession pl in place, let theca know what the legal consequences could be if they haven't made arrangements for a replae meat operator. Now is the time to start succession planning, before it's too late! Information regarding operator certif cation requirements can be found at www.health state mn u,~ o www.pca.state n_uc, or www.mrwa.com, and water operator salaries at www.lmnc.o~ (for cnembe cities), ~* www.awwa o (for purchase; AWWA members receive reduced rate). THIS TECFITTICAL,ti99!$tANCE T[MPS Page 7