AUGUSTA -- City councilors approved a contract Monday for the city to provide payroll and other financial services for the Greater Augusta Utility District, potentially saving the district about $90,000.

The district, which is independent of the city and provides water and sewer services, will pay the city $37,500 to perform payroll, accounting and budgeting services for one year.

The district, without the contract, would have paid between $125,000 to $130,000 for those services for the coming year, according to Ralph St. Pierre, the city's assistant city manager and finance director.

Ken Knight, chairman of the utilities district's board of trustees, said the district has been contracting out most of its financial work to a private company.

Now, it'll contract with the city, saving about $90,000 a year in ratepayer funds.

"Augusta taxpayers and utility district ratepayers are oftentimes the same people," said Mayor Roger Katz. "We're saving the ratepayers, and our taxpayers, some money."

St. Pierre said the city does not plan to add staff to take on the additional financial work from the district. He said the work would be shared between four or five different city employees.

Councilor Cecil Munson asked for a review of how the additional work would affect city employees, once they take on the district financials.

The district approached the city about providing the financial services. The city already provides human-resource services to the district, Knight said.

"It goes back to what we started four years ago, with the consolidation," Knight said. "We're trying to be conscious of saving as much as we can."

The Greater Augusta Utilities District was formed last year after voters approved the merger of the former Augusta Sanitary District, which provided sewer services, with the Augusta Water District. The combined district also provides sewer services to the Hallowell Water District.

The merger took place after at least three years of planning.

Under the terms of the new, one-year contract, the financial records, books and ledgers of the city and utility district would be maintained as separate files, not combined with each other's.

Councilors amended the proposed agreement Monday, removing a paragraph that stated no data related to the district's finances shall be used without the consent of the district. They replaced it with a paragraph stating all requests for financial data related to the district shall be directed to the district's general manager.

Councilors approved the contract in an 8-0 vote.

* In another unanimous vote, councilors favored a proposal to rename a segment of University Drive, which is also referred to locally as Community Drive, as Community Drive.

Matthew Nazar, deputy director of development services said the section of road -- essentially the main entrance to the Augusta Civic Center, has two names. It is officially designated by the city as University Drive, but a city-installed street sign identifies it as Community Drive.

Nazar said city staff recommended changing the official name to Community Drive because that is what the rest of the main road past the Civic Center is called.

He acknowledged the change will affect six businesses on the section of street. They will have to change their addresses to the new Community Drive address and, in some cases, change letterhead and other correspondence.

The city received a letter from Edward McLaughlin, president of the Maine Economic Research Institute, which is in one of the buildings where the address will change, who said the change would create a financial burden in forcing the organization to change its "7 University Drive" address to a Community Drive address on its literature.

Nazar noted someone would be affected no matter which of the two street names are used, and said it was important to avoid confusion over addresses, especially for emergency crews responding to the area.

The change will be effective Jan. 1, 2009.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com