Dunbar Township auditors approve raise for roadmasters
DUNBAR TWP. – Township auditors Joe Kristobak and Donald Homer agreed Tuesday to give township roadmasters a 50-cent per hour raise. Larry Mayros, John Tobaj and Ron Keller, township supervisors who all work as roadmasters, presently make $19 per hour, according to the auditors.
Auditor Robin Leighty, who acknowledged that it only takes two votes to pass the raise measure, additionally said that she was not in favor of giving the roadmasters the additional money.
“I’m not trying to penalize them,” she said. “I simply don’t think that giving them a 50-cent per hour increase is going to solve the main problem.”
Leighty said the “main problem” began five years ago when the township workers joined the Teamsters Union. She said at that time the supervisors gave too much away in the initial five-year contract and now the workers are making almost as much money per hour ($17.50) as the roadmasters who have much more responsibility.
“The union workers keep getting raises, under their contract, and we have to keep giving the roadmasters raises to make sure that they are making more money than the workers,” she continued. “They (the supervisors) actually put themselves in this position five years ago when they negotiated that contract.”
Homer argued that the supervisors do a good job and said because of their job performance they deserve a 50-cent per hour raise.
“I think a 50-cent per hour increase is getting off awfully cheep,” said Homer. “They could have asked for a $1, but they didn’t.”
Leighty agreed saying, “It was a dollar last year and a dollar the year before that and now its 50-cents. I’m not saying that they don’t deserve the money because I think they do but I can’t go along with this because if things keep going this way, taxes are going to have to be raised in the township to keep up with the raises for the union workers and for the roadmasters.”
Kristobak reminded Leighty that the auditors don’t have anything to do with the union negotiations and Leighty said, “I know we don’t. What I am saying is by us taking the initiative of saying ‘we are not going to give you an increase until such a time when you can do something to correct or rectify what seems to be an ongoing downhill slide,’ especially since they don’t have the revenues coming in to compensate the expenditures.”
Leighty said as an auditor and as a taxpayer she would simply like to see some changes being made.
“I think if we initiate something that maybe that will go in a positive direction for everybody all around,” she said. “This is only my suggestion guys and I am not going to push the issue especially since it only takes two votes to pass the raise.”
In other matters, the auditors agreed to give the roadmasters an extra $5 per week to be placed into their pension fund. Leighty said the auditors gave the roadmasters an extra $5 allowance last year too, which brings them up to $110 a week for the pension plan. She also mentioned that the roadmasters have the same pension plan as the union workers.
The roadmasters will also receive $300 a month transportation allowance. However, the auditors said the roadmasters would still be required to turn in their receipts to prove that they used that money for work-related expenses.