Supervisors and employees urge caution, want operational staff involved before consolidation

Several county supervisors and staff expressed concern about moving too quickly on consolidation without meaningful input from superintendents and mechanics who would be affected by operational changes. One committee member said employees the speaker had spoken to were "totally against it" and asked that foremen and other inside staff be invited to the next meeting to voice specific operational concerns.

"I got a feeling this is just being pushed down our throat," a committee member said, urging the committee to involve shop supervisors and staff before committing to consolidation. Other members echoed that operational details — who manages parts, how DOT billing would be handled, and how staffing and pay differences would be reconciled — are central questions. The architect and staff agreed the follow-up study would identify HR, legal and billing triggers but that actual collaborative negotiations with unions, DOT and human-resources teams would be needed before any consolidation decision.

Committee members asked staff to gather frontline feedback and suggested the consultant’s scope should include a focused assessment of consolidated staff roles and billing/accounting mechanics that could affect whether shared operations are feasible. The committee did not change the decision to fund the follow-up study but directed that staff engagement with employees be part of the process.