GIRARD — City council voted 5-1 Monday against a new engineering contract with MS Consultants of Youngstown and instead is recommending to the city administration having a full-time engineer on site.

Councilwoman-at-Large Lily Martuccio was the lone “yes” vote for awarding the contract to MS Consultants.

Members of the administration and council held a lengthy discussion on the pros and cons of having a full-time city engineer or using the services of an outside engineering firm.

Councilman Tod Latell, D-at Large, asked the administration if having a full-time engineer at the city building would be better than having an offsite engineering firm working for the city.

Safety Service Director Mark Ragozine said Dennis Meeks, who serves as a part-time engineer for the city, plans to retire this year, with the Girard Lakes and dam improvement project to be his last project.

Latell said Meeks was doing the engineering work unless something had to be bid out before the city began working with MS Consultants.

Ragozine said the strategy is MS Consultants will be the city’s engineers once Meeks retires, which will provide a smooth transition.

“Having MS Consultants on board this past year has helped the city when things come up every day. When Dennis retires we need to have a firm in line to take over all the responsibilities. We want MS Consultants to absorb all of the information as we transfer all the city engineering duties to them,” Ragozine said.

He said Meeks works part-time at 29 hours per week or less. Meeks had been the city engineer for more than 30 years, but had cut back on his hours.

The contract with MS Consultants is for $105,000, but Ragozine said a full-time engineer in the city would be $120,000 or higher.

“That is what engineers make today,” he said.

Mayor Mark Zuppo said Meeks is being paid $40 per hour.

Ragozine said if the city hires a full-time engineer, there will need to be an office space with equipment and probably an assistant engineer. He said even with a full-time engineer on staff, the city may still need to bid out other engineering work.

Ragozine said Zach Teter, an engineer with MS Consultants, is familiar with many of the city’s projects.

Councilman Keith Schubert, D-1st Ward, said it is important to look at the money spent and the city getting “the best bang for its buck.”

Ragozine made a request that legislation be prepared for the March 9 meeting to move forward with the city having a full-time engineer, which he said will cost the city more than the contract for services from MS Consultants.

Teter has worked with the city on water, wastewater and road projects.

Zuppo said Teter also has digitized much of the engineering information.

Teter said he worked with the city Monday on a waterline break off Churchill Hubbard Road that happened late in the day.

Councilman Thomas Grumley, D-4th Ward, said Meeks will be taking all his skills and knowledge with him when he retires. He said he favors having an in-house city engineer more available at the city building as opposed to using an outside engineering firm.

“If the route you want to take is a full-time city engineer, it will not be cheap,” Zuppo said.

Latell said City Auditor Julie Coggins said that all departments have to watch spending this year.

Council gave first reading to an ordinance setting a $20,000 cap by department heads and administrators on spending with prior council approval.