The Cheektowaga Town Board will look into a complaint that a town highway crew assigned to a bucket truck restrung rope on a flagpole on private property, a councilman said.
What happened at the property in May doesn't appear to be an isolated occurrence.
"Too much of this stuff has been buried, and I commend the people that finally came forward," Councilman Jerry Kaminski said at Tuesday's Town Board meeting. "This is taxpayers' money that has been wasted for years."
Highway Superintendent Mark Wegner said there was nothing wrong with what the town crew did.
The owner of the property on Borden Road called and asked if the town could restring his flag pole because the rope had broken over the winter.
"All they did was they reached over and put the rope on so the guy can fly the American flag. This is just ridiculous," Wegner said. "We've helped out a lot of people, if we can reach it."
Wegner, who has been highway superintendent for 14 years, said he does not say yes to every request.
"A lady wanted us to put a flag pole up for her. We don’t put flagpoles up, but if you need the rope put in and we can reach it, we’ll help you," Wegner said.
Attorney Paul D. Weiss, who represents the highway workers' union, raised the Borden Road work at the Town Board meeting. In May, a member of the public took video of the flagpole assistance, Weiss said. The practice of town workers doing work on private property has been going on for several years, Weiss said.
There are similar photographs at the same location in 2020, and town crews also installed a light on the pole, he said.
Employees did not say anything because they feared retribution, according to Weiss.
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Originally Posted by cheekman
