Washtenaw County Road Commission to replace 4 snowplows, hire 8 workers
The Washtenaw County Road Commission will be adding eight full-time employees to its understaffed workforce and four new snowplows to its fleet this year.
The new heavy trucks will hit county roads next winter, said Roy Townsend, managing director for the road commission.
The road commission approved the purchase of the trucks at a recent meeting.
The Washtenaw County Road Commission will be hiring six temporary employees that drive snowplows full time this year.
Daniel J. Brenner | AnnArbor.com
The new snowplows will be assigned to the crew that clears the major state-owned roads in Washtenaw County. Trucks on those routes tend to run for 16 hours in a row during heavy winter storm events, as they’re in use by both night and day shifts, Townsend said.
Older snowplows in use on the state route crew will be transitioned to other crews within the road commission, allowing the oldest heavy trucks in the commission’s fleet to be decommissioned.
The new heavy trucks will be equipped with new technology, Townsend said. The trucks will have wing plows that will allow drivers to plow both the main lane and shoulder at the same time.
Saddle tanks full of brine also will be on the new heavy trucks. The tanks will allow drivers to spread both brine and salt at the same time - a more effective method than the way it happens now, he said.
Road crews pour water over the salt in the truck to activate it faster once it hits the streets, Townsend said.
The commission’s operations - both in the engineering department and field work - are typically manned by the equivalent of 130 full-time employees.
For the past three to four years, the road commission has been operating with about 105 employees.
With the addition of two new employees in the engineering department and switching six temporary employees to full-time status, the net gain of eight employees will mean that the road commission still has 17 vacant positions that it won’t likely be filling this year.
The road commission’s engineering department still has six vacancies, and there is a finance clerk position that is vacant.
The six temporary employees were hired in December to drive snowplows and work in the operations department, which had 16 vacancies going into this winter season after retirements and relocations. They’ll now be full time, but the operations department will be doing its job without 10 employees it once had.
Temporary employees do not receive benefits as full-time employees do.
The road commission also has reinstated a merit-based bonus program for non-union employees that it suspended in 2008.
The program gives one-time lump sum bonuses to non-union employees at the top of their pay schedule who are no longer eligible for merit-based salary increases.
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.
Comments
Sharon
Tue, Jun 18, 2013 : 10:07 p.m.
This is my comment for the new employees at Washtenaw Road Commission. Do not get injured on the job. You will be fired that same day. You will get no benefits no matter how many years you were working for them. I have never worked their but heard the horror stories regarding management. The management team sucks. They all need to be fired.
Thinking over here
Mon, Mar 4, 2013 : 4:41 p.m.
"....road commission still has 17 vacant positions that it won't likely be filling this year." Why is that? No applicants? Or no funding? Or....?
moveover2012
Sun, Mar 3, 2013 : 4:12 p.m.
GLOBAL WARMING ..will cut ...the full time employee to PART TIME..our winters where 4-6 months now we have 3-5 inches for 4 weeks ..
aceduece
Sun, Mar 3, 2013 : 3:14 a.m.
Happy to hear the good news!!!!!!!! Glad some money is going towards jobs and equipment and not $700,000.00 pieces of art work out side city hall from foreign artists!!!!!!!!!!
Greg
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 10:21 p.m.
I have lived in several cities in the North part of this country. Ann Arbor seems to take great pride in plowing the streets as late as possible. Just do not understand why from any point of view (safety, traffic control, anything at all) that this makes sense.
ypsi-investor
Sun, Mar 3, 2013 : 3:14 a.m.
The WCRC doesn't snow plow for the city of Ann Arbor. Just the Townships, state highways and freeways.
zip the cat
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 5:13 p.m.
I for one wish to thank the guy who plows my road,Huron River dr between mast and territorial. He does a great job. I don't know your name but it does not matter,you do a great job.
jcj
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 6:54 p.m.
Zip Good post! These drivers are taking too much heat for something they do not control.
DwightSchrute
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 4:21 p.m.
Unless there's news that these trucks are going to spend more and earlier time on Ann Arbor city streets, this is a non-story to me because I think the county does a great job overall of plowing. Until you enter Ann Arbor city limits.
Basic Bob
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 5:02 p.m.
The county road commission is not responsible for plowing in the city.
Homeland Conspiracy
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 4:09 p.m.
For Sale 4 snowplows slightly used. Drove by a little old lady from Pasadena to church & back only
jcj
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 4:02 p.m.
I love it when people make outrageous comments but hide when it is time to defend their comments!
dexterreader
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 3:18 p.m.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a good thing? A win for better plow/salt coverage, and a win for the temporary employees who were moved to full-time permanent employment.
Mike
Tue, Mar 5, 2013 : 1:44 p.m.
JW - you must be pretty young. We had snow, warming, rains, winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, and all kinds of weird weather way before glogal warming (now climate change) became a rallying cry to impose a carbon tax on all of us to make those politically well connected into billionaires. Why do you think Al Gore just sold Current TV to Al Jazeera. Because he could see that not all American people would drink the Kool-aid. The sale of that TV station to them proved to me all I suspected about Al Gore. He'd sell his soul to make a buck.................
Basic Bob
Sun, Mar 3, 2013 : 3:44 a.m.
The hockey stick curve proved that Michigan winters were ending, probably before any of these new trucks are fully depreciated.
JW
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 9:03 p.m.
I think it is positive also. But Mike must be kidding--there have been many clear explanations in the press about how global warming is causing increased snow fall because the warmer air in winter time can hold more moisture. Global warming experts including Al Gore have never proclaimed that there would no longer be a winter here in Michigan.
Mike
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 8:03 p.m.
They've been getting by with the lower number of FTE's and now with global warming upon us why are we adding snow plowing capacity. According to Al Gore we should be buying boats...............
jcj
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 3:38 p.m.
I also think it is a positive for all of us.
tim
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 1:37 p.m.
These new trucks really have state of the art cabs, and sleep three comfortably.
Paul
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 11:31 p.m.
Threesome in the county truck
Homeland Conspiracy
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 4:12 p.m.
Is there a place to hide the beer?
ruminator
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 1:32 p.m.
Maybe there is hope. Perhaps one of the new hires will have enough common sense to actually put the blade down on the roadgrader rather than going by at 20mph with the blade up high! This was the case yesterday on Braun Road in Saline Twp. Yup, I watched the grader pick his way through the potholes and mud just like we do everyday. This all would be funny if not so pathetic. No money to fix our roads but money for merit raises? The road commission needs an emergency common sense manager.
ruminator
Sun, Mar 3, 2013 : 3:20 a.m.
JCJ. Was at 9:45am. Not the end of the day. The reason was? What information do you have to doubt my account? Enough said.
jcj
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 2:25 p.m.
What time of day was it? Is it possible it was at the end of the work day? I guarantee you there WAS a reason IF what you say is true! And that reason was NOT a lack of common sense!
SMAIVE
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 12:01 p.m.
Well, now we know where possible funding to fix the section of Ann Arbor/Saline over I-94 was rerouted.
Basic Bob
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 5:07 p.m.
MDOT did not have the money for the bridge. Don't blame the road commission.
jcj
Sat, Mar 2, 2013 : 2:22 p.m.
Please explain your understanding of where the funding comes from. now we know where possible funding Do we KNOW? Or do we just think its POSSIBLE this is where it comes from?