Workers to be paid up to 80 hours of OT a year
By Michelle ORiley
WESTERLO This month, the town board approved the revision of current policy for overtime pay for town employees.
The board decided that full-time hourly employees would now be able to accumulate up to 80 hours of overtime in a year. At the end of each year, all unused time will be paid out to the employee.
At last months meeting, the board was undecided about whether to allow employees to accrue these hours from year to year. The final decision to pay out and not accrue was based on a review of Albany Countys current policy and how the decision would affect the towns budget and debt outlook for future projects.
A resident who attended last months meeting commented that the changes should not be an issue for the town since most employees will want to get paid for their overtime and would not pool their hours for future use.
Other business
In other business, the town board:
Scheduled workshops to discuss a comprehensive land-use plan for the town on the second Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. The workshop will be used to identify goals, strategies, and the framework for the towns plan. The board wants public input so, for now, will keep the workshops open to the public;
Approved the purchase of a new truck for the highway department for $159,000;
Discussed the installation of a generator for the new water district, scheduled for May 10. The town will look into the cost of installing a fence around the generator to prevent safety hazards and vandalism;
Scheduled a water-flow test with the International Organization for Standardization on May 26 to determine the current ISO rating for homeowners in town;
Stated that the water-district ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in June on an as yet unspecified date;
Approved a Carver punch list that includes repairs and fix-ups for the water district;
Agreed to look into auctioning off some of the towns used highway equipment; and
Approved the purchase of a photocopier machine for the town office for $5,336.