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MILFORD, Beaver County — All four members of Milford's city maintenance crew returned to their duties Wednesday after "unofficially" resigning Tuesday.
The resignations, albeit brief, were born out of miscommunications between Milford Mayor Nolan Davis and the city foreman that "got taken out of context," Milford councilman Les Whitney said.
When contacted Thursday by KSL, Davis declined to comment on the situation or the nature of the miscommunications.
"The crew did not walk because of monetary issues," Whitney said, disputing social media posts that claimed the resignations were the result of a dispute around pay. "It was just a miscommunication issue."
After learning of the resignations, the city council on Tuesday converged in an emergency meeting to "discuss options to keep our valued city crew members and the city operations running smoothly," according to a statement from the city council.
While Whitney was adamant that the issue was not about pay, the statement highlighted benefits and wage increases for full-time city employees that the city council adopted in May for the tentative budget for the fiscal year 2023, which begins July 1.
The increases included a 12% cost-of-living adjustment, to help with inflation, and a merit increase ranging from $3 to $5 per hour depending on performance evaluations.
Additionally, the statement said that the city will continue to pay 100% of the health insurance premium for all full-time employees, and that city maintenance crew members will receive overtime pay when their hours worked exceed 40 hours a week.
The statement goes on to say that Davis and an unnamed council member met with the city foreman and leadmen "to discuss their concerns and to let them be heard."
"Their concerns are valid and conversations will continue until all issues are resolved," the statement reads. "All members of the crew are back to work effective immediately."
Whitney said that Davis, the city council and the maintenance crew all accepted responsibility for "poor communication."
"There's still some issues that are being worked on, but that'll take a little time," Whitney said. "But everybody's fine. Water under the bridge, and we're moving forward."
