Ortonville- Help wanted.
Village officials are looking to hire two full-time laborers for the Department of Public Works to replace the two they fired about six weeks ago.
‘We didn’t advertise right away, because we needed to get things squared away and see who we needed and that sort of thing,? said Village Manager Ed Coy of the decision to advertise the positions now.
Coy, with village council approval, terminated Bill Prince on Jan. 29 and Kevin Booms on Feb. 2. The pair are represented by Teamsters Local 214 and grievances have been filed for wrongful discharge.
Teamsters Local 214 Representative Les Barrett said if Booms and Prince prevail in their grievance, then the village will have to decide whether to have four DPW employees or lay off the two newly hired persons.
‘The village is doing what they should be doing to keep the bargaining unit viable,? Barrett said. ‘I disagree that they need new people because Prince and Booms have been improperly fired.?
Barrett said a grievance hearing was held March 6 with himself, Prince and Booms present, as well as Coy, Council President Ken Quisenberry and Councilmembers Kay Green and Melanie Nivelt.
‘We presented our case and talked about the issues and they are going to give us an answer by April 3, whether they will settle or not settle,? Barrett said. ‘Under the contract, they are required to provide an answer.?
Since firing the DPW crew, the village has used private companies for snow removal and pothole patching, as well as trash pickup. Soon, Coy said, they will need work done including street painting, street cleaning, and park cleanup.
‘In a month or six weeks, we will get into grass cutting,? Coy said. ‘Once we get the two full-time workers, we may still need outside companies to do additional work beyond the scope of the DPW.?
Coy said there is no timeline on when the village will hire two new employees.
‘We have to find the right two people and we have several applications to sort through,? he said.