Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
At a special meeting, held June 11, the Rushford Village Council formally accepted the resignation of Public Works Supervisor Trenten Chiglo, who’s served the village since January 2021.
Chiglo presented the letter of resignation May 28 to City Clerk Mary Miner, with his resignation effective June 13. The council received a second letter, with requests by Chiglo, ahead of the council meeting on June 3. At that time, the council opted to send the matter to the Personnel Committee, which includes Councilors Bob Hart and Rick Ruberg, for further negotiations. The committee met with Chiglo on June 9.
“They couldn’t come to anything at that time,” said Mayor Dennis Overland. “Do we want to make any other possible changes to the discussion or just accept Trenten’s resignation?”
“We negotiated and just couldn’t come to a conclusion to rehire,” stated Hart.
“You didn’t change your mind on that?” asked Overland.
Hart shook his head to indicate they had not. “Trenten said he would be willing to help anyone who’s hired … show them the ropes,” he added.
“Possibly,” said Chiglo.
“It’s changed from willing to possibly, but I hope you will,” responded Hart.
Chiglo has taken another job elsewhere and will have limited time available to assist. He indicated he would put together a list of important information, including contact information for the various village functions.
“Is there an opportunity for you to show someone here the basics? We’re going to have to be doing that for the next month or month-and-a-half,” said Overland.
The water system needs to be checked daily and information recorded for both water and sewer. Chiglo will also need to change the emergency dialers for the systems so someone on the council is aware if issues arise.
“If you’re willing to take the calls …” began Overland.
“I can take them, but I don’t know if I will answer,” responded Chiglo. “I don’t know. I hink what I would be willing to do, after Friday, I could take a Friday or day and show them. But, if I’m going to do that, I would like the rest of my PTO to be paid out,” said Chiglo.
The PTO is accrued time, earned by Chiglo, that amounts to roughly 51 hours. At the current rate of $31.88, that equates to a payout of roughly $1,625.
Overland also asked if Chiglo would consider covering the required water and sewer reporting with his license.
“I don’t know. I don’t have a for sure answer at the moment, but it’s not a no,” said Chiglo.
The council thanked Chiglo for his time with the village.
With the resignation accepted, the council reviewed the job description ahead of advertising the position.
“Any ideas where we can get some help in the meantime?” asked Councilor Travis Link.
While sewer, water, and roads are all massive priorities, the village will also need to contract with a licensed company or person for lawn maintenance. There are several areas in the village that see regular summer mowing. Only two quotes are required for the council to make a decision on contracted mowing and they are expected by next week’s regular council meeting.
The council moved on to discuss the proposed PTO payout. This year’s budget included a step increase and full 3% cost of living adjustment for Chiglo, plus funds to hire a part-time worker. Treasurer Judy Graham didn’t feel the village would suffer financially. However, what wasn’t budgeted for was health insurance, which can run between $18,000-20,000 for a family, less for a single individual, depending on their personal variables.
“I think he’d help us out,” said Overland. “He’s leaving in good graces. He’s been doing a really good job, even the last few weeks. You know, he could have just kinda laid back. I think we could use his help.”
“We could use his help. I don’t know if we’ll get it. That’s the scary part,” said Link.
“I’d like to see his license involved with this deal, if we have to go that route,” added Ruberg.
“That would be nice,” said Overland. “That’s a whole different negotiation then. By doing this, hopefully we’re setting up a good relationship that we could hopefully keep things going in that direction.”
“What if he helps for an hour and gets his full PTO? Is that what I heard,” asked Hart.
“It’s a trust thing,” said Link. “If we agree to get it paid out, I don’t know how, if we say we did and he never showed up or answered a call, I think we’d still have to pay it out.”
“He’s accrued that now and we’re going to have to pay it. He told Rick and I, ‘I want to help.’ He already vacillated while he sat there. I’m not being critical of him, that’s just what he told Rick and I in our conversation, that he’d be glad to help.”
The council unanimously approved the PTO payout.
“I really trust that he will help us out,” concluded Overland.