City Council unanimously supported spending $2.26 million next year on three consultants that will help with federally mandated projects to modernize and improve the city's sewer system.

City Utilities Deputy Director of Engineering Matthew Wirtz told council Tuesday night the city wants to hire Malcolm Pirnie to serve as a consultant on the projects, with CH2MHill and DLZ Indiana to serve as subcontractors, both for one-year contracts.

Each firm has or will have Fort Wayne offices, Wirtz said.

The consultants, he said, will help alleviate demands on his staff when working on such a massive project. He told the council his office lacks the personnel, knowledge and resources to carry out the projects.

“There's always a need for consultants' help on projects where we believe the design is more than our staff can handle,” Wirtz said.

The $2.26 million for the consultants, or program management, is budgeted as part of the estimated $240 million cost, in 2005 dollars, of the 18-year plan to reduce combined sewer overflows. The spending is part of a consent decree negotiated between the city and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Wirtz told council Tuesday he hopes to present a three-year contract next year, which would cover intensive design and planning work by the consultants in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, while he approved the ordinance to fund the consultants, suggested to Wirtz he look at longer-term contracts, suspecting City Utilities may get a better deal on contracts that way. Wirtz said there's an advantage to letting firms compete annually for new contracts.

In other news, council endorsed 5-2 a contribution of $150,000 to the Downtown Improvement District's 2010 budget, despite heated arguments for cuts in the budget from Councilwoman Liz Brown, R-at large, and Councilman Tom Didier, R-3rd.

Brown told DID President Rich Davis she disagreed with how the funds were being spent, moving for a $25,000 cut. Didier agreed with that figure, saying the agency could offset that cost by simply nixing its current plans to move into new office space.

Council President Tom Smith, R-1st, approved the budget now, but issued stern warnings to Davis that he wouldn't be so generous next year.

“I will not cut the budget this year, but next year I will,” he said. “Rich, I think you have to understand there is a cut coming.”

Council also expressed support for the purchase of $608,000 worth of aggregates and more than $523,000 worth of road salt for the street department.

Final votes on this spending are likely to come next week.