Committee approves airport grounds contract after union objections; adds board-approval clause for extensions

The Dane County Public Works and Transportation Committee on April 15 voted to forward a substitute to Resolution 375, which would award a grounds‑maintenance contract at the Dane County Regional Airport, to the Finance Committee and the full County Board after adopting an amendment that requires any multi‑year contract extensions “with board approval.”

The change came after more than a dozen public registrants and multiple union leaders urged the committee to reject a multiyear outsourcing contract and to allow time for labor‑management discussions on whether county employees could perform the work. The substitute, as amended, passed on voice votes and will proceed to the Finance Committee and then to the County Board for final action.

Why it matters: Committee members, airport management and employee representatives debated whether the airport should hire a private vendor for turf and grounds work or keep the work in‑house. Opponents said a five‑year contract worth roughly what was described in testimony as about $850,000 would lock the county into a long arrangement and remove routine oversight by the County Board. Supporters at the airport argued the department needs staffing flexibility and that some specialized, safety‑sensitive tasks are best kept with county employees.

Airport operations staff described recent additions to airport positions and said the department has focused on adding specialized roles to meet regulatory and operational needs. County staff gave an initial cost comparison for a hypothetical in‑house groundskeeper classification and said converting to county staff could increase personnel costs; airport staff also said those calculations were preliminary.

Union speakers and employees urged delay or a shorter contract. “Time, that’s all we were asking for,” said Megan Spence, an executive board member of AFSCME Local 65, referring to requests for additional labor‑management discussions and cost calculations before committing to a long contract. Travis Thomas, treasurer of AFSCME Local 65 and a terminal maintenance worker at the Dane County Airport, said employees and management could use the coming months to develop a strategy to keep groundskeeping largely in‑house. “We hope…to keep county workers doing county work,” he said.

Ben Ratliff, field representative for AFSCME Council 32, criticized contract accountability provisions that rely on the vendor to self‑report labor‑relations complaints. “Contracting out…is an immediate red flag,” Ratliff said, arguing for stronger oversight or in‑house solutions.

Former AFSCME Local 65 president Eric Anderson, speaking as a taxpayer, said approving a five‑year contract would “usurp authority from not only the next county board, but also the one following that,” and urged annual renewals so future boards could review extensions.

Amendment and committee direction

Supervisor Vetter introduced an amendment to the substitute that…