Rescue personnel will continue to clean town office

BUCKFIELD — Rescue Department employees will continue to clean the town office during their on-duty hours, the board of selectmen decided during its meeting on May 1.

The decision to continue the practice was made after a discussion about a professional cleaner's proposal to clean the town office.

The proposal's cost is significantly higher than the $1,850 included in the town's proposed budget — an increase of $460 from last year.

According to Town Clerk Cindy Dunn, the figure increased because town administrators want to complete all the cleaning tasks on the town office's list of janitor's responsibilities.

This will mean that Rescue Department employees will increase the number of hours they spend cleaning the building from two to four hours a week.

The expanded list of duties, including washing windows, would be in addition to the work already done by the Rescue Department, which includes vacuuming the building and cleaning bathrooms.

The proposal by the private contractor would cover the entire list of janitor's duties.

Rescue Department workers have complained that they find the work degrading. In a letter to the board sent in January, Rescue Chief Lisa Buck said that aside from the impact on morale at the rescue station, the cleaning practice was also unsanitary and could delay response times.

The board was split in its decision to continue the practice.

Selectman Robin Buswell said that the work was part of the rescue workers' job description, and they knew what was expected of them when they took the job.

Despite Buswell's argument, neither the board nor Dunn, who was sitting in for interim town manager Dana Lee, could definitively say that cleaning the town office was included in the rescue employee job description.

The board voted 2-1 to continue the practice. Chairwoman Eileen Hotham voted against the measure, while Buswell and Selectman Rodney Allen voted for it.

The proposed budget still needs to be approved by voters at the annual town meeting.