GUEST POST: Cut Two Fulltime DPW Employees

Note: This is a guest post by Marilyn Gauger.

The Town Board again has confirmed why I am running for office. They made another decision late in the evening, at a special called Town Board meeting. They made this decision again without input from the appropriate people in the know – this time the DPW Director. They cut 2 fulltime DPW employees. Again, the way this was done was rude and disrespectful - 2 employees were told to leave this AM. The timing is also very curious!

Remember they (Town Board) did this before, very late in the evening; when they voted to sever the 50+ year Big Bend Vernon Fire Department.

What are the short term and long term affects of this latest decision? I personally worked for the previous Director LeRoy Titze for 10 years and I know what it takes to maintain 75 miles of road and maintain equipment to cover 34 square miles of property. How will it affect crackfilling, snowplowing? As a bedroom community; our roads, having them maintained and having them clear of snow, is at the top of resident’s wants and needs. That is one of the reasons the previous Boards felt it necessary to have a 6-man crew. That crew does a superior job for Town residents.

My question is why cut 2 fulltime employees? State Budget Bill? OK, to date we don’t even know how it will affect local municipalities. When we are notified of the Town’s fiscal impact we (Doble, Gauger and Herried) will look to our department heads/DPW Director/Clerk/Treasurer to suggest the best possible ways/items to make any necessary cuts.

I looked at the Town’s budget and believe we can realize savings, as proposed by the new State Budget Bill while maintaining our current level of employees - exactly what Governor Walker proposes for State employees. There are approximate savings of:

• $34,000 in WRS
• $14,000 in Health Insurance

Reductions of:

• $100,000 in Capital Equipment based on 2010 purchases (Do we now have more trucks than DPW workers?)
• $20,000 in Legal fees

Omitting:

• $3,500 Fireworks
• $3,000 Appreciation Dinner

In summary, are 2 DPW employees being laid off in order to finance the new Vernon Fire Department? Did the Town Board take out loans of $129,000 and $278,000 to make up for the fund balance of $187,000 used to balance the 2011 budget? Did the Town Board realize the Estimated Actual from 2010 of $204,000 - if not, they have put the Town at a most unfavorable financial level.