Growing communities mean staff has to grow, too.
We have detailed the work that crews were tackling in the city this summer, the need for additional summer help this year as the city was wrestling with a drought and trying to get grass seed at the new Nature Park to propagate.
With crews helping to assist with the water main projects this year, the staff has been stretched.
It is why the hiring of a public works director, especially someone who would be available to assist on jobs that involve underground infrastructure, makes sense to us, especially as we’re moving into the months of colder temperatures when water mains inevitably break.
The City of Lisbon has done a lot of work to improve water mains and infrastructure under the city streets in the past five years, but it has been routine, especially when temperatures reach freezing, that broken water mains are being repaired.
Like Travis Bagby noted, he cannot do the work to fix one of these mains alone; it’s usually a three-person job, and having another professional who knows what they need to be doing to assist is only beneficial to the city.
We understand the concerns that council member Rick Scott has raised, especially when it comes to a new staff person and potential different rates of pay compared to some who have held the jobs longer.
But we also agree that Lisbon’s growth and their public works crew trying to tackle projects on their own is a benefit for taxpayers as well. Having another staff member allows more of the other items to be tackled, especially in cases of an emergency like a water main break, as well as the items like leaf and brush pick up and other projects the crew is working on.
If the goal is the continued slow and steady growth for the community, it makes a lot of sense that public works staff would also need to add more positions
as well, as the amount of roads and other infrastructure, as well as leaf and brush pick-up and snow removal in the winter also increases. Lisbon’s staff has done a great job, especially following storms, to get the city cleaned up, even with a crew of only a handful.
Sun Editorial – Staff growth a positive sign for City of Lisbon
November 2, 2023