Berlin Highway Workers Unionize

by Kieron Kramer
Berlin Highway Department workers will be represented by the United Public Service Employees Union in future negotiations with the Town. A vote was cast by the Town Board at the regular Town Board meeting on Thursday night, January 14, recognizing the UPSEU as the representative of Berlin employees. The vote was 4-0 in favor of recognizing the union with Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger abstaining from the vote and recusing himself from the discussion because he is already a member of a union, CSEA, as an employee of the Berlin School District.
According to a letter from the UPSEU, a majority of Berlin Highway employees voted to be represented by the union. The Highway Department has four employees. Transfer Station employees are not eligible to join the union, according to Jaeger, because they are part-timers. Town Attorney Don Tate said, “I don’t know what procedure they used to find out if there is a majority, but they are a legitimate union and if they say they have a majority, then they do. If they have more than 50% they will be recognized by the State so the question is – should Berlin force the UPSEU to go to the State to petition.” He asked, “Would you like to hear my thoughts in executive session?”
To its credit, the Board did not rush into executive session. Newly elected Board Member Richard von Schilgen said, “I’d like to hear your thoughts. I’ve done inquiries with other highway departments and other attorneys. The consensus is that they are not all that sure that the union is in the best interest of the employees but that is the employees’ decision. It has been expressed that the highway employees don’t trust their Town Board. I would have rather seen an effort to mend fences than to go this route, which will be bad for the Town in the long run. We have no choice. I don’t want to see bad blood between this Board and Town employees.” He added, “I am not a union man.”
At Tate’s suggestion the Board did go into executive session, although what was left to say is a mystery. After the five minute executive session the resolution to recognize the union was made by Board Member Carl Greene and seconded by Board Member James Saunders. What caused the Berlin Highway Department employees to want to unionize is also a matter of conjecture. Was it Greene’s idea to save money with a hiring freeze and the use of retired or part time workers for plowing, an idea he maintained was only a harmless inquiry? Was it Saunders’ constant questioning of every highway department expenditure since he has joined the Board? Was it the restructuring of the employees’ health insurance benefits in the 2010 budget. Was it the Stephentown Highway Department’s decision to unionize last April? Was it instigated by the UPSEU? Or was it all of the above?
When asked after the meeting for his take on the issue, Highway Superintendent Jim Winn said he did not want to share his feelings on the issue but that he “doesn’t care if they join the union. It has nothing to do with me,” he said several times.
1992 Procurement Policy Updated
Before the issue of the UPSEU was raised there was a discussion about the amount Winn is allowed to spend without prior authorization from the Board. In the past the Highway Superintendent had a limit of $1,000. At the Organizational Meeting on January 7 Jaeger had suggested that this be raised to $2,000, but some Board members balked, and the issue was tabled until this meeting. Saunders said that he thought “$1,000 was just fine,” while von Schilgen said, “I don’t think $2,000 is excessive; I trust Jimmy’s [Winn] judgment.” He then noted that most things are covered by the procurement policy that was passed at the Organizational Meeting. Board Member Sheila Hewitt also agreed that the procurement policy covered most of the purchases. Tate felt that the policy is the standard, applying to all Town purchasers, although an exception could be made for Winn by amending the policy. The procurement policy adopted this year is the same one adopted by the Town Board in January 1992, a document Town Clerk Anne Maxon dug up out of storage, obviating the need to develop a new policy, which Carl Greene had been pushing for for months. By and large the policy follows the guidelines set forth by NYS Municipal Law. Cumulative yearly purchases which exceed $10,000 or public service contracts that exceed $20,000 require a formal bid process; purchases from $3,000 to $10,000 and contracts from $10,000 to 20,000 require a request for proposals (RFPs) and written/faxed quotes from three vendors or contractors; purchases less than $3,000 but greater than $1,000 require an oral request for goods and oral or faxed quotes from two vendors while purchases under $1,000 are left to the discretion of the purchaser; public works contracts less than $10,000 but greater than $3,000 require a written RFP and faxed proposals from two contractors while contracts under $3,000 are left to the discretion of the purchaser. So, Winn’s authority to spend up to $1,000 remains the same as it has been for every department head since 1992. This Board has added “items listed on current County or State bids” to the list of exceptions to the requirement for written proposals. Other exceptions already in the policy are goods purchased for less than $250 and contracts for less than $500, goods purchased from other governmental agencies or purchased in emergencies, among other exceptions.
The Need For Office Space Still Exists
The Town’s need for office space, one of the issues that would have been solved by the purchase of the Berlin Lumber site as a municipal center, prompted the introduction of a resolution by Town Supervisor Robert Jaeger to provide “required” office space. It was stated at this meeting that there are State guidelines and mandates about facilities that towns must provide. There are State guidelines for proper record storing and the categorization, preservation and proper storage of historical documents and artifacts in handicapped accessible facilities. One State mandate requires highway salt storage to be in sheds. At present some Town records and materials are stored in Anne Maxon’s basement in about 300 sq. ft. where she works as Clerk. Records stored in the basement of the Town Hall are “wet and smelly” according to Jaeger. Other Town officers store materials for their departments in their homes, and the Town Historian, Sharon Klein, stores historical documents and artifacts in the Town Library, her home and in various other people’s homes. And Berlin does not have a salt shed.
The resolution has two distinct parts. The first, and most controversial because it involves expenditures that could have been avoided with the proposed municipal center, involves paying monthly rent to Town officials for the use of space in their private homes or the relocating the Town Clerk’s office to a rental space that could also be utilized for the other departments. Attached to the resolution was a survey of department minimum requirements. At present there are 580 sq. ft., including the 300 in Maxon’s basement, being used. The department heads estimate that they require 1,364 sq. ft.
The second part of the resolution proposes the formation of an advisory committee “to review the space needs of the Town and provide recommendations for both short and long term goals.” The advisory board will be made up of one Board member and four members of the community. Board Member Sheila Hewitt volunteered to be the Board representative and Chairperson of the advisory committee, which is expected to report its progress monthly. At the end of the meeting, Dave Theriault volunteered to be a member. Speaking in favor of the committee von Schilgen, who thought the Berlin Lumber purchase proposal was too precipitous, said, “Over the last few years the issue of dealing with State mandates, seeing the need for highway department space and office space means we should continue to look into this to meet highway needs and State requirements.” When Hewitt suggested that Berlin might share a facility to store historical items with Petersburgh, Jaeger replied, “Petersburgh has a building; Stephentown has a building; Berlin has no building.”
Since it didn’t make much sense to pass a resolution that would provide rental payments before the advisory committee could be formed to make recommendations on these issues, the Board decided to rewrite the resolution and vote on it at the next regular Board meeting. Three more community volunteers are needed to sit on the committee which will be officially formed next month. Interested parties should contact Sheila Hewitt or Rob Jaeger.
Reports
Highway Superintendent Winn said the Department “has been chasing snowflakes.” A lot of sand has already been used, he said. He also reported that the plow blades are being worn down quickly since the frequent light snowfalls mean that a lot of blacktop is being scraped. Winn is interested in buying carbide blades because they will last quite a bit longer, and von Schilgen suggested that money for carbide plow blades be included in next year’s highway budget.
Winn, as Water District #2 Supervisor, said, “It’s all quiet.”
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that because of the weather at this time of year dogs, especially small ones, need appropriate shelter. He got a call about a dog living outside on North Main Street, and he found a home for it.
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton reported that two certificates of occupancy for new houses have been issued. He also said that a Planning Board member is working on the wording for demolition permits that will set a time limit on them. The Town Board will have to pass a resolution setting the new time limit, Yerton said. Later in the meeting he said that he, the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) have been working well together and will begin reviewing the 1988 zoning regulations. A review that is required by those regulations to be done every five years. The group will see if some changes are necessary to bring these codes into compliance with NY State regulations.
Pam Gerstel, Planning Board Chair, reported that Dwight Goodermote has resigned as alternate to the Planning Board and that the Planning Board is nominating Yolanda Dalessio as his replacement. The Board voted unanimously to accept Goodermote’s resignation and to appoint Delassio as alternate. The Planning Board is still looking for another alternate. Interested parties should contact Pam Gerstel.
ZBA Member Vic Lewin reported that the ZBA’s consulting engineer, Mark Hutchinson, will give a report on the proposed Cherry Plain cell phone tower at their meeting on Thursday, January 21.
The Comprehensive Plan Workshop will be held at 7 pm on Wednesday, January 27, at the high school. The snow date is February 3 at 7. Participants will form discussion groups, and Linda von der Heide, Principle Planner of the County Economic Development Office, will be present to explain the process. Postcards announcing the workshop have been mailed to everyone on the tax rolls. For those who did not get a postcard, they can be picked up at the bank, the post office, Hewitt’s Market and at different places around town, said Sheila Hewitt.
Carl Greene reported that US Fish & Wildlife is prepared to start work on the Bentley project in the Little Hoosic River when the weather allows. The agency has applied for and received permits from the DEC for the project.
The chain of command required by the Berlin Disaster Plan was set at the Organizational Meeting on January 7. The chain is Supervisor Robert Jaeger, Deputy Supervisor Carl Greene, Board members Saunders, Hewitt and von Schilgen, Highway Superintendent Jim Winn and Deputy Highway Supervisor Donald Sweet.
Head Transfer Station Attendant Ivan Wager reported that 900 tons of material was handled at the Transfer Station in 2009. He also said that he filed the reports required by the DEC and that he is about to go on vacation. Wager said that Ed Jones will do the paperwork in his absence.
Chair of the Assessors Nancy Sweener announced a change in the Assessors’ hours. The new hours are 6:30 to 8:30 pm on the first, second and fourth Monday of the month. She also announced that the applications for property tax exemptions have been mailed. The applications are due, or must be postmarked, by March 1. Sweener asked that people who want an application and who have not received one to please call her.
Robert Jaeger announced that the Petersburgh Town Board has agreed to meet with the Berlin Board to discuss possible shared services agreements. He suggested, Thursday, January 28, the date of the next Berlin Board workshop, as a meeting date. The Board agreed to this meeting date.
Nancy Sweener informed the Board that a resolution increasing the members of the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) from three to five is required by the State. She said that there are so many recusals for neighbors or absentees for family emergencies that the voting membership is frequently cut down to two when the size of the BAR is only three. We need five to sit at all times to be sure of a quorum of three, she said. She added that there is an annual stipend of $100. The Town Board voted unanimously to expand the BAR to five members. Since Rebecca Giumarra is on the BAR now four more members are needed. When the BAR is formed it will choose a Chairperson.
Saunders reported that some pipes froze in the Watipi Building during the recent cold snap. Although the boiler was working the fan was not, Jaeger said. Saunders has fixed some pipes already but needs to purchase some fixtures. Jaeger thanked him for taking care of the problem. Wager suggested that warning lights be put in the window so a heating malfunction can be discovered quickly before too much damage is done.
Permit Rates Rise
A proposed raise in rates for applications to the Planning Board and ZBA was introduced at the December meeting. A document with the proposed new rates has still not been typed. The rate increases include increases in various types of building permits as well. Jaeger and the Board have seen the rates. Jaeger said the increased rates “do not seem out of line.” Yerton said, “They are quite low compared to other towns.” Jaeger said that the rates would offset the paperwork and other expenses incurred by the ZBA and Planning Board. Since Town Clerk Anne Maxon and Town Attorney Don Tate said that a public hearing is not necessary for the Town to set rates, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the new rates effective immediately. The rates were not announced nor was a document available to be made public.
Brownell Visits
Before the regular business at Thursday’s meeting, newly appointed Vice Chairman of the County Legislature, Stan Brownell, addressed the meeting. Brownell has said before that he sees his new position in the Legislature as something that can be used to help the residents of eastern Rensselaer County. On Thursday he thanked the voters of Berlin for their support. He also reminded the Board of the paperwork necessary for employees involved in the NYS Retirement System. He informed the Board that Fred Howard had retired as County Engineer and that Wayne Bonesteel, from Erdman Anthony, an engineering firm the Town has worked with on the Southeast Hollow Road Bridge, is the new County Engineer. In closing, Brownell said, “Lester [Goodermote, who also represents District 5 in the Legislature] and I are here as resources, so use us.”