Highway Contradictions in a Recent Article Register Star

To the Editor,

I found contradictions and misleading information in a recent article in The  Register Star on October 19th comparing the two candidates for Copake Highway Superintendent.  For example, Mr. Jamieson was quoted as saying “It’s a full-time job—I’d intend to be available full -time at half the pay,” yet his “palm card” distributed in June states that “Bill Jamieson will return the position of Highway Superintendent from full- time to part- time, cutting the salary in half.”  Not only is this clearly a contradiction, but it devalues this very important position and appears short sighted.  He added that “we don’t need a crew of eight all year.”  Bill Gregory reduced the “crew” to seven full-time employees last year when he was appointed as Highway Superintendent.  Mr. Gregory presently performs both functions of manager and “hands-on” staff at significant savings of both salary and benefits.  Does Mr. Jamieson not realize the present situation?

Other avenues which Mr. Jamieson would explore to save the town money have already been implemented by our current Highway Superintendent, Bill Gregory.  These include “extending the life of vehicles, selling unnecessary equipment, and determining true personnel needs through attrition.”    

Furthermore,  Mr. Jamieson stated he will ”limit pay raises to annual cost of living increases and restructure benefits.”  These are decisions of the Town Board, not the Highway Superintendent.  His declaration that the town bridges “desperately need repair” may be accurate however bridge repairs are the responsibility of the County, not the Town of Copake or the Highway Superintendent.

Mr. Jamieson may have 31 years of valuable experience with the County, and I’m sure his intentions are good, but relevant experience and strong management skills are what we need in Copake.  Bill Gregory has implemented innovative and insightful policies and procedures including an employee handbook, performance reviews, generation of monthly reports, and the establishment of a highway liaison.  He has demonstrated strong organizational and management skills and I feel confident in his abilities.  I suggest we support Bill Gregory for Copake Highway Superintendent in the upcoming election, as he truly understands our roads and needs, and has a long-term vision for our community.

Dr. Terry Sullivan

Copake, NY