On Thursday, August 3, 2023, the Town of Jay Town Board held a special meeting for Personnel Issues and to seek Legal Advice. This meeting was prompted by an email received from DPW Director Kevin Lincoln on July 24, 2023 about impending resignations. The Town of Jay Town Board wanted to obtain legal advice from the Town Attorney and what steps we may have to take as a Town Board moving forward.
During the open comment period of the August 3, 2023 special meeting, the town board was reminded about the long history of issues between the Town of Jay Town Board and the Town of Jay DPW. The town board has been taking the issues the DPW has seriously. The current board has already implemented many corrective actions and we are prepared to continue making necessary changes during these challenging times.
Two town board members met with former and current DPW members for a couple of meetings in 2022 to discuss these matters in depth. The issues that arose from these meetings were wages, lack of employees, aging equipment, and loss of benefits over time.
The Town of Jay Town Board quickly responded by giving a bonus incentive for all full time employees who worked through COVID. In the middle of 2022, the board then went to work to increase wages for the DPW to attract and retain employees. After working through the 2023 budget process which included additional wage increases, new equipment, and additional manpower, the town board was faced with an additional ask from the DPW in the first quarter of 2023. The Town Board responded by adjusting the current budget to accommodate an increased pay scale, adding yearly longevity payments, creating per diem positions and making policy manual changes to encourage former employees to return.
The Town of Jay DPW, just like all other towns and county DPWs, has been faced with unprecedented fiscal and employment issues. We understand the concerns of the Town of Jay DPW are not all financial issues and the board is taking steps to address these concerns as quickly as we can with the resources we have. As requested by the DPW, our Town Board DPW committee will be conducting regularly scheduled in-person meetings to help improve communications so we can better assist in resolving any concerns that may arise.
As elected officials, we are here to work for you. If you have questions, you may approach any Town of Jay Town Board member, leave a message at the Community Center for any of us, request any information, or schedule a meeting at any time. We are here to serve you.
Sincerely,
The Town of Jay Town Board.
