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Debate on $5.75 hourly add-on for senior water operators raises overtime and union questions
Summary
Councilman Kilmer proposed adding $5.75 per hour to two senior water operators' pay to reflect added responsibilities; board discussion flagged overtime control, union approvals and potential grievances.
Councilman Dan Kilmer proposed adding $5.75 an hour to the hourly rate of two senior operators in the town's water department, Tim Burns and Gilman Clark, to reflect added duties after the board delegated day-to-day operations to them earlier in February.
Kilmer said the additional pay was intended “for the added duties and responsibilities.” He offered the motion and a colleague seconded for discussion. Council members voiced support for compensating staff tasked with important water and wastewater responsibilities but raised concerns about previous overtime practices and how the change would interact with overtime scheduling.
Kilmer and others discussed establishing an overtime rotation (“wheel”) so that higher-paid operators would not take the bulk of overtime shifts. A speaker noted that the town can now control overtime because day-to-day direction flows to the town board.
Board discussion also touched on union approvals. One speaker said a union identified as ASME (per the transcript) had signed off on the change, while another union, CSEA, had not and “is gonna file agreements against us if we do this,” according to a board member during debate. The transcript records different statements on who has signed; the board asked that the motion be amended to refer the matter for additional review if desired.
Kilmer gave figures indicating the adjusted rate would change an operator's hourly pay from $41.04 to $46.79. Board members agreed the issue required further vetting with unions and possibly additional review in executive session before final approval.
No final roll-call vote approving the pay increase appears in the transcript; the board discussion ended without a recorded outcome on the compensation change in the provided record.
Clarifying details and next steps: the board discussed limiting overtime through scheduling changes, verifying union sign-offs (ASME and CSEA referenced in the discussion) and potentially revisiting the matter in executive session. The motion's final disposition was not specified in the transcript provided to the meeting record.
