Currently, the four city Public Works sections have vacancy rates of between 40% and 50%.
The Streets Section of the City of Flagstaff’s Public Works Division is responsible for plowing Flagstaff’s streets. With an annual operational budget of $5.5 million, one-third of that is for plowing 700 miles of roadway, which involves plows driving 2,600 miles just to plow everything once. If it has seemed to be taking longer at times, Streets Section Director Sam Beckett knows all about it. He fields dozens of calls every year from frustrated residents.
His section has 20 snowplows in total, including nine motor graders and four front-end loaders. But the work is hard on the equipment, which requires frequent maintenance and repairs. Keeping them all on the road can be a challenge. “When we had our first major snowstorm in early January this year, much of the fleet was out of commission with various mechanical breakdowns, so we only had three plows available. Thankfully, we got most of the fleet operational again for the major storm in February,” said Beckett.
Why the shortfall? Snowplow operators are required to have a commercial driver’s licence and a minimum of one year of heavy equipment experience. The starting pay is just over $18 per hour, with a stipulation to work extended hours during snowy weather. In addition, Public Works is competing with private companies for staff, as well as having some of their most experienced team members retire.
“We’re finding it harder and harder to staff entry level positions. We’re looking to find ways to be more competitive in the market, but it’s not just the pay. There’s just not as much interest to work in equipment operations and the commercial driving trades as there once was,” said Beckett.
Currently, the four city Public Works sections have vacancy rates of between 40% and 50%. The staffing shortage has had an impact on residential street snow removal this year. But also, later snow removal is also partly because the city focuses on clearing residential streets at night when they don’t have to deal with parked cars.
At Coconino County, the job requires removing snow from 323 miles of paved roads and 675 miles of dirt roads across the second largest county in the contiguous U.S. County road maintenance and plow crews currently have a 25% to 30% vacancy rate, along with a bigger fleet of 27 graders and 27 snowplow trucks to draw on, giving them some leeway to cope with equipment breakdowns.
“We’ve really been helped by Proposition 403, which was passed by the public in 2014,” said County Public Works Director Christopher Tressler. “That helped us get a budget that makes Public Works sustainable in terms of equipment and operators.”
He adds that the county is able to pay a bit above the city rates and offer career growth. “I think that’s helped us to hire and retain staff. With snowplow training and experience, staff can go from an Operator 1 to an Operator 4 level, so there’s the opportunity for career advancement and higher compensation. The annual pay currently starts at just over $40K for Operator 1 level and goes up to between $52K and $76K for Operator 4 level. We’ve got a good core of experienced operators – some have been with the county for 20 years or more.”
For both the city and the county, the biggest challenge is when a lot of snow falls fast. At the county, Tressler applauds the Arizona Department of Transportation for being proactive in closing certain roads. “It really helps us get onto those roads and get them cleared fast as soon as it stops snowing. We try to stay ahead of the storms, but even with vehicles equipped with chains, it can become overwhelming. The schools implementing late starts really help us a lot to get the roads cleared, especially if it snows early in the morning.”
And when the snow stops, the crews are busy maintaining and repairing roads. That work includes pothole patching and keeping roadway signs in good condition. Signage alone is a massive task. The city has some 16,000 signs and each one typically needs to be replaced every five to seven years because of the impact of high UV exposure and weather. FBN
By Diane Hope, FBN
Photo courtesy of Lawrence Littleman: Coconino County snow removal crews cover 323 miles of paved roads and 675 miles of dirt roads.