Here is a town employee that cares about "our town"! Rick saved us thousands of dollars when he raised the manhole covers on main street this year. Dale Gray insisted the work was to be put out for bids claiming his crew shouldn't do the work because they do not know how. Budget Committee Member Bob Davis visited a crew raising the lids in Keene and took pictures of how simple of an operation it was to raise the lids. Giving the pictures to Ken Berthiaume helped convince the selectmen to talk to Rick Meleski who said he could do the job saving us thousands. You do not hear this from other town employees.
I am convinced we should have one employee like Rick Meleski in charge of the sewer, water and highway dept. Our budget is out of control and full of unnecessary, wasteful spending. The highway superintendent job should be an elected position. We need support to do this. WinchesterInformer.com will be circulating a petition to make the highway superintendent an elected position please support us and sign it.
The following is from the BOS minutes Oct 15:
Rick Meleski would like to assist the Highway Department with plowing this winter. The current water operator Ric Brooks does not have his CDLB to operate the loader. Ric Brooks needs experience and training in order to operate the town truck. Selectman Ruth has no problem with Rick Meleski assisting the department as long as it does not interfere with his job at the sewer plant. Selectman Berthiaume discusses using local people (contractors) who might like the work, as a backup alternative since Rick is unavailable 3 mornings a week. Selectman Fraser makes a motion to approve Rick Meleski’s plowing for the Highway Department this winter as long as it does not interfere with his job, and Ric Brooks is trained by next winter to plow in his stead. Selectman Whippie seconds the motion and it passes 4-0.
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How can you hire someone to work in a position on the Highway Dept. that doesn't meet the qualifications of the job? Being a former employee of an out of state town and working in the highway dept. it was required that we be CDL approved and this was many years ago. This practice of hiring unqualified friends and relatives needs to stop not only in this dept.; but in all departments. If we're going to keep up with the Joneses ( comparing salaries in other towns) in wages, we should also start hiring the most qualified person to fill these positions if we're so worried about them going to other towns to seek higher wages. Hiring unqualified people and them having to spend tax-payer money to train them is totally unacceptable and outrageous and smacks of nepotism.
The PD has been doing just that for years. Its sick
Shouldn't being able to drive town equipment be a prerequisite to being hired? Unless this person was hired as a general laborer he shouldn't have been hired in the first place. Why should the town have to pay to train someone to fill these positions when there are definitely more qualified applicants with the proper licenses looking for work?
Is there no one in the townhall with a son or daughter that has a CDL? Not joking.
We hired a man than would not be a threat to his or her boss. Cant have an employee capable of taking over. Glad to see he couldn't hold Rick back. So mister new guy just hang in there, when the cuts come it may start at the top, thats the way to save real money and it keeps the people that do the work.
Why don't we ever see job vacancys posted in the newspaper like other town's do? Why is it we never even know there are job openings in town departments until there's an announcement they have been filled?
Seems to me and my husband that the town would be better off filling positions with more qualified people instead of training those they hire and costing us more money; but they'd have to advertise in order to do this and it doesn't seem they are interested in doing this. Why not?
I herd from one other person that applied for the job opening on the water dept and he was more than qualified. He was told that he didn't get it because of a personal problem that went on with a past employer. It didn't matter that he had worked for this employer for almost 10 years with no problems.
What we really need is a system for hiring the most qualified people for town positions and that means ALL employees. Too many are hand picked relatives or friends of others working for the town already. The problem starts with few people running for election and too few voters. Winchester needs a change of the old guard and a fresh start or it's just more of the same, year after year. This blog is a good sign that people are waking up and starting to speak out against the injustice of the few who are part of the problem in Winchester. We all need to participate and get out and vote and keep abreast of what is going on in our town.
Our condolences to the Meleski family on the recent loss of Rick's father. Our prayers and thoughts go out to Rick and his family.
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