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Service director now urged for Burton
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - November 03, 2010)
Service director now urged for Burton
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
A new idea was thrown into the mix as Burton Village officials met last week to discuss the economic feasibility of creating the position of village administrator.
Councilman Charles Hauser suggested that the village consider a service director to oversee water and sewer operations, rather than hiring a village administrator.
He said the No. 1 complaint from residents is that the street and water department does not seem to be working in an orderly manner. He said residents complain about seeing village trucks roll by with two workers inside, then another, then another. "They want to know what are these guys doing," Mr. Hauser said.
He said a person hired for a supervisory position should be able to work alongside the other service employees.
Councilman Jeff Coleman said it appears that the workers are not accountable to anyone, and work is not getting done. "The inmates are running the asylum now," he said.
As council's liaison to the road department, Mr. Coleman said, he sat down with department heads to discuss projects that should be done before year end. He said some of those projects, such as crack sealing and chip-and-seal work, did not get done.
Councilman Craig Ronyak said he doesn't understand why workers are not getting their work done. "Do we need to spend money to get people to do what they get paid to do?" he asked.
Mayor Thomas Blair Sr. said the village's problems run deeper than whether it gets a village administrator or service director.
He said much of the village's infrastructure is nearing its end life. He said the village's water tower has reached maturity and will have to be replaced. "It's not cheap," he said. He said the village's well fields are 30 years old.
Mr. Blair said there is also a "fragile" waterline running along Dean Court, Elmar Boulevard and Seco Street. "What if it disintegrated tomorrow?" he asked. "We're talking huge numbers there.
"There are a lot of things in this village that could be a catastrophe," he said. "What we have to do is get the planning going. A village administrator won't help."
Mr. Coleman said part of the problem is the village has raised rates only two times in 20 years, leaving it with little money to do planning. He said now the rates must be raised significantly to bring the operations under self-sufficiency. "That is basically negligence," he said.
Councilwoman Dianne Lillibridge said she tried to state the need for rate hikes five years ago but essentially was ignored.
Mr. Hauser said it's time to let go of what happened in the past. "Let's move forward from here and forget the past," he said.
The group, composed of council and board of public affairs members, had met to discuss other communities that have administrators, looking at their responsibilities and cost.
But, the information provided few insights as to what would be appropriate pay with salaries ranging from $6,500 a year in Navarre to $54,000 in Hiram.
Resident Marci Ann Kimpton said she would like the committee to be able to project how much the village would save over a five- to 10-year period.
But, Mr. Blair said, it is difficult to put up "concrete figures" as she is requesting, because it depends on the duties. He said if one person can provide grant-writing abilities, there may be more savings.
Mr. Blair said the group should hold another meeting to come up with a job description either for the administrator or a service director position.
The group agreed to meet at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 to continue the discussion.
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