While Mayor John Lombardi III claims he operates a “strong mayor form of government,” he stated this week that only the Common Council holds the authority to address the overtime budget problems in the public works department.
During a council work session in June, Dan Cavallari, city finance director, distributed a table tracking overtime costs for city departments against their budgeted funds. As of June 17, the city’s equipment maintenance garage had reached its overtime budget of $30,000. In the same period, the city parks payroll had surpassed its overtime budget of $20,000 and the city’s forestry crew had surpassed its budget for overtime of $38,000.
When presented with the information, Marcus Wyche, 2nd Ward alderman asked about a plan going forward, and whether department heads knew their overtime status. Neither Lombardi nor Cavallari provided an answer.
“Why wasn’t it correctly budgeted?” asked Rowland O’Malley, council president and 3rd Ward alderman. “Is this consistent with last year?” O’Malley did not receive answers.
The overtime issue resurfaced last week when Kevin Kirchberger, alderman at large, reported that Clayton Dimmick, director of highways, parks and water distribution, had scheduled a road work shift on the previous Saturday, which automatically qualified as overtime. Kirchberger wanted to know why the scheduling decision was made. Lombardi directed Kirchberger to find out from Dimmick.
When questioned about whether aldermen could go directly to city staff with requests, Lombardi said no, and stated that he led from a “strong mayor form of government,” in which he oversees day-to-day operations.
Kirchberger said there were several tree emergencies last weekend due to several inches of rain, and no reason to believe there wouldn’t be more city maintenance emergencies on weekends that would require overtime.
When asked by email Monday if he would request a transfer of funds to cover future overtime, and in what amount, Lombardi replied that it was up to the council.
“There is no easy answer for most of your questions,” Lombardi said. “We are all concerned on overtime issues. It would all depend on where the council wants to go, they control the money. We all live in the City of Lockport because of the services that are provided. City residents expect certain services, as well as certain activities, and festivals. Removing them (affects) their quality of life.”
Lombardi has frequently told aldermen that delays in mowing parks, fixing roads, and cutting hazardous trees are due to lack of staff. Last month, Wyche responded by suggesting that the city supplement the maintenance department by using Aerotek Staffing Services, which is allowed within the union agreement and that the city has used for clerical work.
When asked if he had used the service to assist with the city’s worker shortage, Lombardi said, “As far as Alderman Wyche is concerned, I appreciate his efforts, but there is a cost of the service being offered and I do not believe that’s the way to go.”
“I think that’s taking the easy way out,” Wyche said of Lombardi’s latest comments. “If you’re saying the aldermen have to solve (overtime), and we’re presenting you with a solution, you should entertain the solution. Ultimately it’s what the taxpayers need. We say that things aren’t possible because of low staffing. So you go out and get the help and revisit the staffing issue later. I don’t stand by the open-ended answer, and it’s a conversation the mayor and council need to continue to have because it’s something we can do to relieve the strain on our staff.”
Kathryn Fogle, 4th Ward alderman, disputed Lombardi’s deflection to the council.
Lombardi “just plays that game,” Fogle said of shifting responsibility.
Fogle said resolutions for fund transfers are written regularly by Cavallari and presented to the council. Fogle said Cavallari develops the annual budget and would also perform overtime projections.