Falls Church Utility Workers Back to Business as Usual

After the City of Falls Church decided to halt the sale of the water company last week, it's business as usual for employees of Falls Church Water. 

Susan Finarelli, spokeswoman for the city, said the company will continue serving customers just as they have for years before.

“The City of Falls Church will continue to operate the water utility system as it has for the past 80 years,” Finarelli said.

Last week, the city announced that they . In April, City Manager Wyatt Shields said one of the conditions for the successful suitor would have to for all of the Falls Church Water employees for at least a year. The city had a starting bid at $44 million and attracted nine possible suitors, including Fairfax Water. Talks between Falls Church and Fairfax water companies came to a halt last week.

Finarelli said city employees, including those within the Department of Public Utilities, were well informed about the potential sale of the system. During the time the future of their jobs was unknown, they continued to maintain the system as they had done for years.

“The options for the future of the water system included selling to a private company, selling to a public authority, or keeping operations within the city,” Finarelli said. “All of those options included guarantees of employment for employees.”

Robert Goff, director of operations for the Department of Environmental Services for the City of Falls Church, said Falls Church Water employees wanted to make sure that if they were sold, they would have three to four years of employment guaranteed. He said now that the water company isn’t being sold, that’s not an issue the water company’s employees are concerned about.

“Now our guys can just work and focus on working toward their retirement,” Goff said.

Related Content: