To the Editor:

A listing of Guilderland Town salaries on seethroughny.net lists highway department staff earning approximately $44,000 that computes at approximately $21 per hour at 40 hours per week multiplied by 52 weeks per year. 

The New York State Department of Labor Prevailing Wage Chart for July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 last published on May 1, 2025 by the New York State Department of Labor says in its introduction:

It is the duty of the Commissioner of Labor to make the proper classification of workers taking into account whether the work is heavy and highway, building, sewer and water, tunnel work, or residential, and to make a determination of wages and supplements to be paid or provided. It is the responsibility of the public work contractor to use the proper rate. If there is a question on the proper classification to be used, please call the district office located nearest the project. District office locations and phone numbers are listed below.

Prevailing Wage Schedules are issued separately for “General Construction Projects” and “Residential Construction Projects” on a county- by-county basis.

General Construction Rates apply to projects such as: Buildings, Heavy & Highway, and Tunnel and Water & Sewer rates.

Laborer Heavy and Highway prevailing wage on the NYSDOL prevailing wage indicates: Heavy and Highway Laborer Group A at $41.69 and a Journeyworker at $27.65.

There are other categories for workers engaging in hazardous waste sites.

Are our town employees being paid prevailing wage rates?

In light of town retirees having to turn to your paper over Supervisor Peter Barber and this town board, making decisions that compromised the town retirees’ health insurance, would you be able to look at prevailing wage rates across departments? [“Editorial: A retired town cop is fighting for his life, having consistent health insurance is essential,” The Altamont Enterprise, Feb. 3, 2024]

For example, is the town supervisor underpaying the administrative assistant? I ask because I was an administrative assistant in 2000, paid $50,000 while seethroughny.net lists an administrative assistant paid much less in 2025.

How many people are receiving stipends for committees that are not required and could that money be used to increase town employee salaries?

Christine Duffy

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Job postings on the Guilderland town website show the starting wage for a full-time laborer in the highway, water, or parks department to be $19.78 per hour. The figure is within a dollar or two of three similarly-sized towns: Bethlehem, $19.22 per hour; Brighton, $21.30 per hour; and Clifton Park, $18.24 per hour.