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Please explain why some of you posters are claiming tax dollars were used to plow out highway workers driveways when the town employee driveway plowing costs were picked up by the highway superintendent and the town supervisor.
I find it incredible that someone who thought enough of his department employees work ethic at a time of crisis to pick up the tab to clear their driveways since they were on the job for three consecutive days would find this offensive.
I also find it disingenuous to target the town employees for making 'mega bucks' in overtime when other individuals in many similar crisis situations were working around the clock and earning 'mega bucks'.
It is my understanding that those plow drivers could have refused the overtime and stayed home. The streets would have remained unplowed for a longer length of time and the highway department would have taken more crap because of that. Is that what you want? 76 inches of snow, a State of Emergency proclaimed, a ban on driving and we focus on individuals rewarding someone out of their own pockets; really?
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I think it is great that Amatura was paying for his employees' driveways to be plowed out by a contractor. I assume the highway workers went to work when the snow started falling and didn't wait until 2 am Tuesday morning to try and clear their driveways like the rest of us. I don't think the travel ban started at the beginning of the snow fall on Monday night. In fact, I wish I would have went to work right after the board meeting myself.
Yes, the highway workers did a great job clearing the roads but that is their job the last I knew.
I'm thankful that Supervisor Fudoli stayed the course in not allowing taxpayer funded labor and equipment to be used to cleear employee driveways after the storm. If the highway crew came out to plow late in the game and couldn't have gotten out of their driveways to plow the streets, then there may have been cause to plow them out due to public safety concerns. Since that wasn't the case, IMHO, I believe Fudoli made the right decision
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Also, I do believe the highway employees deserve the overtime just as all those healthcare workers who worked day in and day out waiting for the ban to be lifted for some relief. We had people that came in at 6:00 pm on Monday for their 13 hour shift and didn't leave until Friday 7:00 am. Besides their nursing duties, these RN's and LPN's made breakfast, did laundry and emptied garbage. There were phenomenal as the highway workers were in pushing out cars that were stuck.
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On my part - unless I missed it - it was not stated Supervisor Fudoli said he'd pay half out of his own personal funds - hence impression of tax dollars being spent !
Personally I don't care how much they made as long as they earned it - good for them.
Many people lost money and shoveled their own drive ways. The impression was given that this could open the door for covering favors. Glad the Supervisor straightened that out.
Now, if the Union would allow Parks Employees to cross train with the Highway guys - !!!!!!!!!!