UNION TOWNSHIP Interim supervisor chosen to fill assistant roadmaster job

Residents complained that the township needs police for an overnight shift.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Union Township supervisors have appointed interim Supervisor Clair Damon assistant township roadmaster.
Damon was appointed July 31 to fill the seat of deceased Supervisor Ralph Nuzzo until the end of the year. On his appointment, Damon took a leave of absence from his $9.40-per-hour job as secretary-clerk for the township police department because as supervisor, he cannot hold a union position.
What he will make as assistant roadmaster will be determined when township auditors meet. That meeting has not been set, officials said.
Supervisor Steve Galizia cast the lone vote against appointing Damon to the post Wednesday night, calling the move "a bad idea." He wanted to wait until the supervisors September meeting when the township's financial outlook at the end of the third quarter is clearer. He also objected because no job description or hours were set for the position.
Supervisor Kenneth Guinaugh and Damon voted for the appointment. Guinaugh, who also is township roadmaster, said he needs Damon's assistance because of a large volume of work, including mowing, which has been hampered by rain, and for installation of new street signs required by the emergency 911 identification system.
He added that one road employee is off sick.
The post of assistant roadmaster was last filled by Supervisor Galizia, who held it for a short time, but it has been vacant about two years.
Criticism
The action was met with criticism from residents attending the meeting. Two men complained of increasing vandalism overnight when there is no township police officer on duty.
The overnight shift has remained unfilled since the resignation of a full-time police officer last fall. Residents said the township needs 24-hour police coverage more than it needs an assistant roadmaster.
After some discussion, supervisors unanimously agreed to try to find an officer to work a part-time shift from midnight to 6 a.m. The motion included an amendment to make the hiring contingent on the police union agreeing to lift a clause in the contract which prohibits part-time officers from working after 2 a.m.
This clause is hampering the township in staffing the overnight shift because currently, all three township patrolmen are part-time. Police Chief Joe Lombardo is the only full-timer. Although the part-timers are all longtime employees of the township, they all hold full-time jobs elsewhere.
Union Township has found it difficult to retain full-time officers because it pays $13.38 hourly to start, several dollars less than what larger municipalities can offer.
Asked why the 2 a.m. clause exists in the contract, Galizia replied that the only reason he could determine is "it's always been done that way here." He said that he is certain the part-time police officers will agree to eliminate the clause.
Police in the township will be renegotiating their contract at the end of the year anyway because they are switching bargaining units, he said.
A resident also complained about the township's lax enforcement of an ordinance requiring residents to keep grass mowed. Galizia said the zoning book is being revised and some ordinances will be changed to make their enforcement easier.