On February 5, 2019, the Alma town board announced that they
had decided to eliminate the third position from the Alma Highway Department
“because of budget cuts from Cuomo”. This is a dangerous and reckless move that
will not only severely limit the Highway Department's ability to maintain the
roads but it will endanger the welfare of all residents and anyone that travels
our roads.
Until approximately 15 years ago, the Highway Department had
a four (4) man crew. Upon the departure of one of the men, the town board asked
the Highway Superintendent if they would experiment with a three (3) man crew.
The men agreed to give it a try, and while difficult, they managed to keep up
with the work so it was left at three men from that point on. The men have been
able to keep up with the road work and snow/ice removal but removing the third
man will create a hardship for the remaining men. This isn't even addressing
that each man is entitled, by law, to time off which will, in reality, leave
just one (1) man to do the work.
The elimination of the third position from the Highway
Department would force two men to do the job of three and could result in
serious injury or worse. At this time, most equipment maintenance and repair is
done by the men and some of it requires more than one man to do the job.
Without the third man, this will require the piece of equipment to be taken out
for service, resulting in an additional cost to the taxpayers.
One of the most disturbing consequences of this decision is
that it will create serious issues for children who ride school buses through
our town. Children from the Wellsville, Scio, and Bolivar-Richburg school
districts will be affected because it will require the remaining workers to
begin their Winter workday at 2 AM to get ahead of the buses and it would
extend their workday by three or more hours each day, putting more financial
strain on the taxpayers. If the unthinkable were to happen and children were
harmed by this decision, the Town of Alma would face lawsuits from several
entities, creating a financial hardship that the town would not recover from.
At the August 14, 2019 board meeting the board was
questioned about the third Highway position and the Alma town supervisor stated
“The third position. The contract states that we do not have to maintain a
personnel level. Um, and that's what, that's what we done.”, but one would
think that a priority of the town supervisor would be to ensure the safety of
the public he is supposed to serve instead of creating a potentially
life-threatening situation. When you look at how the current town board has
been conducting business it would appear that they are setting the Alma Highway
Department up to fail in an attempt to force a merger with another town. This
would create another fiscal nightmare for all taxpayers involved but that is
for another future article.
All parents, guardians, school superintendents, and bus
drivers are encouraged to contact the Town of Alma supervisor and deputy
supervisor to politely express their concerns and request that they put the
safety of the children ahead of unsubstantiated claims of budget cuts requiring
them to eliminate the third position from the Alma Highway Department.
Paula Clayson, Alma Resident
Important Disclaimer: My husband DOES NOT know that I
submitted this nor does he control my words or opinions. I include this
in all public posts.
#AlmaHighway #UnitedWeStand
Town of Alma Contacts:
Supervisor Ronald Staedt
Deputy Supervisor/Councilwoman Karen Linza
