Hill County Commission hears complaint from road department employee

At their weekly business meeting Thursday the Hill County Commissioners heard from a County Roads and Bridges Department employee who was unhappy with union negotiations between the department and commission as well as general communication about complaints.

Department Employee Hunter Wicks said the department recently received an email from Commissioner Jake Strissel, in response to the department demands as part of their union negotiations, that he felt was like a personal attack against himself and his fellow operators.

In the email to the department, Strissel said he stands by his current offer and is fully prepared to let their contract expire.

The email said a recent assessment by Great Northern Engineering indicated that the majority of the county’s bridges were not up to code and as a result are at risk of not receiving any funding for the extensive damage done during the flooding earlier this year.

In the email to the department, Strissel provided a list of more than 50 names of people who’d made complaints to him about the department and said he would be happy to forward this “litany” of angry communications to the department’s union representative.

Wicks said in Thursday’s meeting most of the names Strissel provided are ones he recognizes as people who live in his territory as an operator, and he doesn’t understand why these complaints have never made it to him.

He said he asked Road Department Supervisor Shane Huston if he’d been given these complaints by the commission, and Huston told him he hadn’t despite the fact that he has a meeting with the commission every week.

Strissel said he passes every complaint to Huston.

Huston had not responded to requests for comment by print deadline this morning.

Hill County commissioners Sheri Williams and Mark Peterson said they haven’t received an especially high number of complaints and what they get they pass on to Huston, so they aren’t sure where the issue is.

Williams said she’s sorry for the trouble this is causing Wicks and she’ll see what she can do.

Peterson said he thinks there are issues to address, but he thinks the department does a good job overall.

In his email to the department, Strissel elaborated on his comments.

The email said that the department’s request of a 20 percent increase in wages over two years was “asinine” given the sheer volume of complaints Strissel has received from his constituents regarding the work ethic of the department.

“I have bent over backwards in attempts to have a positive working relationship with you all,” Strissel’s email to the department read. “I have been true to my word and will continue to do so. However, the negative feedback from constituents I receive are 10-fold from what they were when I first became a Commissioner.”

“ ... Even what I have offered is going to get me in hot water with my constituents,” the email continued. “Residents of Hill County want results. If they cannot get results from the current Hill County Road Department staff, then changes need to be made. A $7-an-hour-wage increase over 4 years when local farmers and ranchers can’t even get to their cows or fields and are spending more time and money working on their equipment due to unkempt taxable roads is political suicide.”

In an email to the Havre Daily News this morning Strissel said he offered the department 12 percent over two years saying 20 percent was unreasonable since the consumer price index is only at 6 percent.

Hill and many neighboring counties have requested that Gov. Greg Gianforte ask the federal government to declare an emergency, which would allow the county to use Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for repairs to bridges and roads that were damaged during the flooding.

The county is still waiting to hear whether the government will declare that emergency.

Strissel said Great West’s analysis indicates the status of the bridges could be a problem in getting FEMA funds.

An email from Strissel to the Havre Daily News this morning clarified that he’s not sure why the bridges were out of compliance so he can’t blame the department without getting all the facts first, and it’s obvious that newer operators in the department cannot be held responsible for something that predates their time with the department.

“It is my duty as a commissioner to look out for all county employees and cannot in all fairness to Hill County taxpayers favor one department over all the others,” the email said.

Strissel said in this morning’s email that lack of funds on the part of the county and the fact that the department’s demand is so much higher than the 6 percent consumer price index this year are the primary reasons for his position in the union negotiations.

During the meeting the commission tabled a lease for a building in their Industrial Park as well as a memorandum of agreement with Havre Trails, both unanimously.

They also approved payment for the services of Bear Paw Development Corp., but Strissel abstained from voting as his wife works at the company and he wants to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest.