Middleburgh Laments Lack of Workers

By Joshua Walther

HUNTERSLAND - The Middleburgh Town Board held their annual meeting at the Huntersland firehouse last Thursday to reconnect with the staff there and field their questions and comments.

To begin, the Board opened with a report from Highway Superintendent Steve Kowalski, who said that after they’re finished with a sealing job in a couple weeks, they’ll have their CHIPS repairs wrapped up.

However, Superintendent Kowalski also noted that his crew is understaffed for the winter and there are no qualified applications coming in despite their advertising.

“It puts us in a little bit of a situation,” he said, as the department has no more small trucks for people without a CDL.

He further explained that Middleburgh wasn’t the only town that’s struggling with highway staff, as the county is having the same exact problem.

“It’s not looking good, but it’s not just us, it’s everywhere. I just don’t know the solution,” he stated.

When the Board asked what the root of the problem might be, Superintendent Kowalski pointed the finger at commercial trucking companies, who are able to outpace municipalities in pay and benefits.

“It’s not like it used to be,” he said, noting that places are now offering $30 an hour. “These places are offering stupid incentives and we can’t keep up with the competitive wages.”

The Huntersland FD agreed with his assessment and said that they’re facing the same problem, where they’ll bring on new people and outfit them with gear worth $10,000 only for them to quit halfway through training.

“You would think that they’d recognize it’s a good job, working for a town,” said one member. “Sure, it might not be six figures, but you’d be alright in the long run.”

Yet whatever the reasoning may be, the highway crew is still in need of help. The Board agreed to continue running the advertisement to try and glean more prospective workers for the upcoming plow season.

In other news, the Huntersland FD relayed that they’ve recently been able to save up enough funds for a new tanker truck to hold water.

“It doesn’t have any bells and whistles on it. It’s about as plain Jane as you can get,” a member of the firehouse stated. “But it has a pump and it’ll do the job just fine.”

“We have to save a lot of money for this stuff,” said another member. “We hold off for a long time. Hopefully this time next year, we’ll have a new truck to show you guys.”

The Board recognized the effort it takes to acquire new equipment, with member Susan Makely saying “You guys always do a great job with what you need. We appreciate it.”

At the end of the meeting, the Board entered into executive session for personnel with no actionable items afterward.