Re-Hire of Seasonal DPW Laborer Tabled by Council

The Council has rejected the hiring conversion of a DPW worker from seasonal to full-time, citing the need for the borough to watch expenditures given the difficult economic times.

Mark Hettinger, who was hired under contract as a seasonal employee, was being considered to fill one of the two spots vacated by attrition. His contract ended March 1, at which time his employment with the town was terminated. 

Full-time status would have taken Hettinger from $15 an hour with no benefits to $20 an hour with benefits. 

In Monday's work session, Mayor Ann Subrizi broached the topic of re-hiring Hettinger as a seasonal employee for a period of three to six months. Subrizi told the council that the DPW is actually down by three full-time heads from last year and another full-time employee is scheduled to go out on medical leave, leaving the department short by four full-time heads. 

"The DPW will be down four full-time bodies as we go into the busy spring season," Subrizi said, mentioning that in addition to regular spring clean-up and maintenance, all the fields need to be conditioned in time for opening day spring sports. 

Before making any decisions, Councilman Austin Ashley requested a detailed description from the DPW superintendent, Mike Calamari, outlining the job responsibilities of each employee on his staff. 

Subrizi agreed to table the discussion of re-hiring Hettinger as a seasonal employee until Calamari could provide the council with the information requested by Ashley.

Subrizi also requested that Calamari include a list of the projects that the DPW is "unable to get to because they are short-manned."