Sep 25, 2024 By Karen Mansfield 3 min read

Donegal Township officials have laid off the township’s entire road crew indefinitely.

The layoffs were effective starting Sept. 20.

Township supervisors had voted unanimously on Sept. 12 to lay off the four-man crew, pending a Sept. 18 meeting with International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66.

In a letter sent to residents, the supervisors said they are reviewing whether the township needs a road crew to maintain and repair township roads and would look into other options, including outside services and contractors to handle road crew responsibilities.

Supervisors said the move “was a very difficult decision” and was made “only after much consideration of what is best for the Township and the residents we serve, both from a financial perspective regarding the use of taxpayer funds, as well as protecting the Township’s inherent right and requirement to manage its employees and the workplace.”

Supervisors contend road crew workers were underperforming and that their work “fell far below reasonable expectations.”

“The township believes that the productivity of this department has not been acceptable and does not justify the large expenditure of taxpayer funds for the returns the taxpayers receive for these services.”

According to the supervisors, the road crew will remain off until supervisors review their options “to determine what is in the best interest of the Township and its residents.”

The township is considering hiring an independent consultant to assist with the decision.

The township said it intends “to continue to maintain the roads and provide the service you expect, especially on an emergency basis, but feel that a long-term solution is more important than a short-term fix.”

Road crew employees, who worked four days a week, had been working under the terms of an expired contract since Dec. 31, 2022.

Bill Riggle, who was part of the road crew since 2014, refuted the township’s claims.

“Those are all false accusations. They’ve been trying for a long time to get rid of the union, and out of desperation, this is what they’re doing. It’s terrible,” said Riggle.

He said there is “enough work there for a much larger crew” and that supervisors “don’t have any idea of what it takes to take care of the roads.”

Said IUOE 66 representative Larry Cardillo, “I just feel the township is at a loss without the road crew, especially the emergency services they provide.”

The board of supervisors will hold its regular meeting Thursday at 7 p.m.