GUILDERLAND — As the town continues to feel repercussions of a Civil Service crackdown, Guilderland may consider a lawsuit against Albany County.
"I suppose we could bring a lawsuit on the basis that they didn’t follow proper procedures," Supervisor Kenneth Runion told The Enterprise yesterday. "It might be an option we may have to look at."

Runion said he is particularly concerned about three water and wastewater employees who are still waiting for the results of their Civil Service exams. The Enterprise reported extensively on the matter in January. The three employees in question have nearly 30 years of combined experience.

So far, one employee in the assessor’s office has been fired and two employees at Guilderland Public Library, have all been fired due to failed exams. There is also a Voorheesville Public Library employee of 15 years who has failed the Civil Service exam and was subsequently fired.
"The water test was the last test to be given," said Runion.

Guilderland has invested over $10,000 to get these workers trained, and receive the proper permits and certification from New York State, in order to do their jobs, according to Runion.

Runion said if these long-time employees were replaced by newer, inexperienced workers from the county’s Civil Service list, that it would be a complete loss for the town. Not only would the money be lost for the former employee’s training, but more would have to be invested for a new employee’s training.
Runion called for an executive session at the end of the board meeting to discuss, "personnel matters resulting from changes required by Albany County Department of Civil Service."
Runion called the Civil Service exams, "aptitude tests," and said they do not necessarily pertain to the jobs they are created for.

A motion was made after the session to consolidate some town positions and add additional responsibilities for the town’s bookkeeper.

The motion will effectively turn the bookkeeper’s job into a full-time position — it is currently a 30-hour a week position — and set the hourly rate for the job at $24.72, according to Runion.
"We’re going to be hiring a part-time personnel assistant in the supervisors office," Runion added about other changes.

The meeting started with the appointment of Donald Albright as fire inspector; he has already held the position for the past eight years.

Albright’s position was recently reclassified by Albany County. The annual salary for the town’s chief fire inspector is $39,700.

Many jobs in town are being changed from non-competitive, where no Civil Service exam is required, to competitive, where an exam is now required, said Runion.
"The system is broken," Runion told The Enterprise, "when you can go back, with a stroke of a pen, and change a person’s position from non-competitive to competitive."

The town has recently received another reclassification for a record management officer, Runion said.

The way reclassification works, Runion explained to The Enterprise, is the Albany County Civil Service Department sends the town a questionnaire on a particular position. The questions included are about job duties, responsibilities, and salary. The county then takes the questionnaire, determines if a position is testable, and then creates a test for particular jobs based on the questionnaire and Civil Service regulations.
"These people who’ve been here all these years, they know how to run their jobs," Runion said. He continued, saying town workers should not be responsible for not being tested in the first place, then be expected to take a standardized exam years later.

The Albany County Civil Service director, Caitlin Frederick, did not return a call yesterday.

However, Frederick told The Enterprise last month that she does not want people lose their jobs, but that county regulations will be enforced regardless of the number of years people have served.

Other business

In other business, the town board:

— Unanimously approved the request of the superintendent of the transfer station, Timothy Spawn, to hold two hazardous-waste days at the highway garage, and participate in the Regional Electronics Day held in Colonie. The two hazardous-waste days will be May 13 and Sept. 23, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The electronics day, which allows residents to dispose of all electronic items, will be held in the parking lot of Taft Furniture on Central Avenue, on April 22, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.;

— Unanimously adopted a resolution that authorized filing out a grant application with the state of New York for financial assistance with the household hazardous waste programs;

— Unanimously adopted a resolution concerning issues involved with Albany County’s reconstruction project on Schoolhouse Road, at the county’s request. Some of the issues included installing sidewalks along Schoolhouse Road, which will be the responsibility of the town, including the maintenance, and the water main relocation work at the county’s expense;
— Unanimously authorized Spawn to bid for the grinding and removal of yard waste from the transfer station for 2006. "We’d like to go out for just one bid at the beginning of the year...That price will hold for the rest of the contract year 2006," Runion said during the meeting;

— Unanimously authorized the highway department to bid for various items for 2006. Some of the items included crushed gravel, galvanized piping, diesel fuel, and heating fuel;
— Unanimously authorize an inter-municipal agreement with the village of Altamont to purchase a parcel of land, on the corner of Route 146 and Gun Club Road, from Albany County for back taxes. The cost of the taxes is roughly $40,000 and will be split evenly with the village. "It’s a good location, on a main traveled roadway, and it’s a good parcel of land," said Runion during the meeting. The town’s assessment for the property is currently valued at $121,500; and

— Unanimously agreed to meet several conditions laid out by Boswell Engineering to dedicate the subdivision of Windsor Court to the town. Some of the conditions include an escrow agreement for a deposit of $54,370 in order to complete work; two additional building permits; and installing 200 feet of sidewalk along Arbor Drive. Runion made a stipulation before voting on the motion that the building permit for lot number seven will not be issued until a sidewalk is in place, for the safety of potential buyers.