One of the issues I noticed last year when I was running for Supervisor was that our DPW needed attention in regards to pay, benefits and retention. The Town of Jay has taken steps in the right direction by immediately increasing wages to the DPW employees by 15% at this past week’s Regular Town Board Meeting. After an extremely good meeting last Monday with Highway Superintendent Kevin Lincoln, Assistant Highway Superintendent Erin Himmel, Councilman Steve Forbes, Former DPW Director Chris Garrow, Chief Water and Sewer Operator Norm Coolidge, and myself, we agreed increased wages was the most important issue at this time. The discussion was positive once the resolution was made, and the Town Board voted unanimously in favor. This group will continue to meet to discuss the next steps to boost the morale of Town of Jay employees.
The Town Board accepted the resignation of Joe Lincoln from the Highway Department. We thank him for his years of service and wish him well on his future endeavors. The Town of Jay Highway Department is now searching for 3 Motor Equipment Operators to replace 2 retirements and this resignation. If you have your CDL and are interested in a position at the Town of Jay, please submit your application to Kevin Lincoln at the Highway Garage. Starting pay for these positions are $19.00 per hour, with benefits.
If you tried to log onto our Regular Board Meeting, you would have noticed there was no sound. I apologize for this inconvenience and will have this issue resolved by next month. I strongly encourage your involvement and try to be as transparent as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Please be aware, NYSEG has announced there will be short outages at 6:00 AM on both May 20th and May 21st for about 3 minutes for upgrades to the system. Please be prepared and stay safe.
Lastly, it was a pleasure having Senator Dan Stec stop by my office last week. We discussed how the cost of water and sewer infrastructure and the regulations governing those systems are overwhelming for some of our special districts. We also talked about the ongoing river reconstruction projects we are working on with the Au Sable River Association, and how finding funds for these projects will help mitigate losses like the February Flood. He has been great to work with so far, and I look forward to the partnership we are creating.
Have a great week,
Matt Stanley.
