Highway committee authorizes search for part-time hire and forwards second-mechanic request to executive committee

The Ashland County Highway Committee voted to seek a year-round part-time employee and forwarded a proposal to add a second full-time mechanic in the 2026 budget process, sending the mechanic request to the executive committee for review.

Matt explained the county has recurring difficulty filling limited-term summer positions and proposed using under-spent LTE (limited-term employee) budget dollars to pay a year-round part-time worker, limited to the county handbook’s 17-hour threshold. He said the county budgeted $24,800 for LTE last year and spent about $8,800, and suggested some of those unused funds could cover a part-time hire. The committee moved and approved directing staff to advertise and pursue a part-time hire and forward the recommendation to the executive committee.

Separately, Matt proposed adding a second mechanic to the highway department for the 2026 budget cycle. He said delivery delays from commercial bodybuilders now push truck deliveries many months beyond order dates; building truck bodies in-house could reclaim roughly $73,000 in labor costs from the purchase price and free operator hours for field work. Matt estimated a second mechanic position (with benefits) would cost about $100,000 annually but could be offset by labor savings and additional revenue from equipment and town work. He said the department would still need capital—about $50,000—for a second set of truck jacks and some additional specialized tools to support in-house body builds.

The committee voted to forward the second-mechanic proposal to the executive committee and to include the position in next year’s budget discussions; committee members requested the usual budget and executive reviews before any hiring takes place.