City and county officials now have about five weeks to try to work out a compromise on several Metropolitan Sewer District policies (MSD).
Council voted unanimously Wednesday to suspend its local hiring policy until August 1. Until then the sides will try to reach an agreement on it and a portion of a responsible bidder policy that requires apprenticeships.
Councilman Chris Seelbach says he's committed to reaching a compromise everyone can agree upon.
Hamilton County Commissioners put a moratorium on awarding new MSD contracts until the city repeals the local hire and responsible bidder policies. Commission president Chris Monzel says now that the city has taken action, the county will reverse that order at its next meeting in two weeks.
The sides need to work together because the county-owned utility is operated by the city.