Rochester debates hiring DPW help

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

After a harsh winter, it was put on the backburner.

But a plea from several village staffers has prompted Rochester’s elected officials to reconsider adding at least one part-time person to the department of public works roster – perhaps before the close of the 2014 calendar year.

At their regular monthly meeting in August, members of the Rochester Village Board revisited the issue, which was broached early in 2014, before prolonged winter conditions took a giant chomp out of the municipal budget.

Clerk-Treasurer Betty Novy, the top staffer at Rochester Village Hall, described Public Works Manager Christopher Birkett’s position as one that has grown – much as the village itself has in recent years.

“He’s kind of a 24-7, on-call guy,” Novy said of Birkett as she discussed the issue with officials Aug. 6. The staffing issue will be discussed further when the board meets Monday, Sept. 8.

Birkett had sought applicants in recent months even before the Village Board gave the green light. Novy and the board discussed several scenarios, including weekend staffing and a person offering as-needed services at scattered times throughout the week.

Several board members expressed concerns about bringing a part-timer into the fold and wondered how the prospective hire would be supervised and trained. The full scope of the person’s duties also came into question.

“There were five or six issues, and it all started to add up,” said Trustee Ed Chart, who sits on the village’s Public Works Committee and had reviewed the proposal before it went before the full board.

While the prospective part-time position is expected to start with a limited scope in hours, Novy said she envisions the list of job duties evolving over time – much as Birkett’s position has grown since he joined the former Town of Rochester a decade ago.

“We’re looking for someone who could grow into this,” Novy said. “I think there is the potential to increase the hours, down the line.”

Conceptually, Novy said she and Birkett are aiming to hire a person who has a high skill set, or is willing to learn while on the job.

“Just having someone pull weeds isn’t going to help with the big picture,” she said.

While there has been discussion of bringing an assistant into the fold in the past, several board members said they were surprised when the issue resurfaced at this point in the calendar.

“This wasn’t even on my radar,” Trustee Chris Bennett said. “I was surprised because this job hasn’t been discussed.”

During last month’s robust discussion, several board members suggested the potential part-timer could work for the village as a contractor, rather than as an employee, to keep costs low.

“I’m wondering if there’s a way we can contract for some of these services,” Trustee Mike Weinkauf said. “I think we could find someone to do these on-call duties. They would be experts.”

Plans call for Birkett to bring one or more applicants before the board in anticipation of a final decision.