Village Board meeting gets heated over new position
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The heavy lifting into the Village of East Troy’s municipal budget is about to begin. As a prelude to the time-honored ritual, officials this week backed a proposal to seek applicants for a position within the Public Works Department.
The Village Board on Aug. 24 voted, 5-2, in favor of adding the position of collection systems operator to the municipal payroll, likely in 2016. The exact dollar amount for the position was not set in stone, but officials gave conceptual approval to move forward with the plan.
In a memo to the board, Mike Miller, director of public works and utilities, gave several bullet points for a job description.
“(The) primary function is to maintain the sanitary sewer collection system and all lift stations … in conjunction with assistance in developing and making a recommendation for 5-year capital improvement plans, in relation to the collection system,” Miller wrote in the memo.
During a spirited debate, the board members wrangled over some of the specifics with the position. The pros and cons associated with bringing the position in-house, rather than seeking contractors, was tossed around.
Other details – including a salary range and whether the position should be full- or part-time – were also subject to debate, though most of the board favored hiring a person on a part-time basis.
Trustee Ann Zess, who voted against the hiring plan, took aim at some of her elected colleagues, who have run for local office touting fiscal conservancy.
“This is a huge decision this village has to make, and we’re doing this on behalf of the taxpayers,” Zess said of the hiring proposal. “This is a decision that shouldn’t be made just like that.”
Fellow Trustee Dusty Stanford, who did vote in favor of the proposal, said he believed bringing on a staff person to assist with public works functions would be a prudent fiscal move in the long run.
Speaking specifically to Zess’ comment about being fiscally conservative and supporting the hiring, Stanford replied, “I take offense to this statement, Ann.”
The village is in the midst of an across-the-board salary study, which is part of the reason officials declined to attach a specific dollar amount to the position.
Village Board President Randy Timms, however, suggested the position should fall somewhere in the range of $26,000 annual compensation. Timms said he believed the professional tapped to fill the position should command an hourly salary of about $25.
In addition to overseeing issues pertaining to the municipal sanitary sewer system, Miller said the professional hired could assist other public works staffers in a variety of capacities, including property inspections, parks services and snow removal.
From a staff retention standpoint, Trustee Forty Renucci said he favored the hiring.
“I’m afraid we’re working people too hard,” Renucci said. “You’re going to wind up having people say, ‘I don’t need this anymore,’ and just leave,” Renucci said.
But Zess said she believed there are ways of structuring public works staffing in such a way that jobs are accomplished and workers do not feel overwhelmed. An HR professional or an external HR team could probably help in this regard as outsourcing human resources might help accelerate the process and get the best candidates for the job.
“You’d need to allocate and prioritize what needs to get done,” she said.
