Otoe County Commissioners voted Tuesday to terminate the entire county bridge crew, including the foreman. The cuts will become effective Sept. 30.

Earlier lay offs had not included the foreman.

First District Commissioner Nicki Kreifels was the lone dissenting vote. Commissioner Joy Schroder made the motion for the layoffs after saying that the bridge crew was unproductive and only completed one new bridge in 2007.

Foreman Lynn Denniston said the bridge crew’s primary purpose is for maintenance. He said Highway Superintendent Glen Steffensmeier has not allowed the workers to complete certain jobs because of engineering requirements.

Schroder said the equipment on hand is insufficient to handle the work that needs to get done and is not safe. Denniston said a 1980 crane was redone three years ago and is safe to use.

Schroder also said the county is spending too much money paying for bridge workers to travel across the county to job sites. Victoria Neumeister, fiance of bridge crew member Matt Watkins, suggested that the Nebraska City shop be moved to Syracuse if the travel time is a concern. Neumeister was wearing a sweatshirt that read “I support the Otoe County 7.” Others in the audience held sheets of paper containing the same statement.

Before the discussion regarding the road workers began, Schroder asked County Attorney David Partsch if any action taken at Tuesday’s meeting must be limited to the seven employees referred to on the agenda. Partsch said the commissioners could not take action regarding more than seven individuals. No vote was taken regarding the four rock haulers.

Commissioner Dale Haverty read a letter from Otoe County elected officials, including the county clerk, assessor, public defender, surveyor, treasurer, register of deeds, sheriff and clerk of the District Court. “We believe as it stands now that if the eliminations proceed today, it will actually cost the county more money than to leave the status quo,” it reads.

Kreifels also questioned the necessity of laying off the workers. “I don’t know why this action has to take place. We are within the budget,” she said.

County Clerk Janene Bennett said the wages for the seven workers who were to be eliminated effective Sept.1 are included in the road budget as they have been in previous years. Commissioners approved a budget of nearly $12.4 million, and a one percent increase in restricted funds over last year, which Bennet said has been approved for the last 15 years.

The levy was set at 0.352864. Last year it was 0.356161.

Board Chairman Dale Haverty said the cuts are appropriate regardless of whether the county is within the spending lid. “We still have a responsibility to save the county money,” he said.

Kreifels later said she was taken off guard by Schroder’s suggestion to lay off the bridge foreman, who has worked for the county for over 32 years and has been the foreman since 1980. “I’m totally floored that not only were the three let go again, but also the foreman who has years of knowledge and skill. I’m flabbergasted. I’m upset that we’ve lost such an asset to the county,” she said.

Denniston told the News-Press that the crew completes critical repairs in a timely manner, and he’s concerned that contracting out will not allow for the upkeep that’s required. He said harvest time is one of the busiest times, when the crew puts in new walls or replaces wood beams in as little as a day to ensure the bridges are safe for equipment. “I’m concerned that the time frame is going to be longer than what we do,” he said.

He said he would appreciate being shown the facts proving that contracting is cheaper. “I haven’t been shown anything as to how it’s going to save the county money,” he said.

Denniston also said the bridge crew completes a variety of duties such as removing log jams, removing trees, replacing bidge decks, pouring concrete decks, helping with tubes, hauling and placing rip rap and tearing out bridges, among others.

Local 251 Vice-President George Forst said the commissioners ordering the cuts despite the county being within budget constraints proves that the layoffs are motivated by more than a desire to save money. “Now it’s not evidently a budget matter,” he told the commissioners. “This is a vendetta. Call it what you will.”

Kreifels said she would be closely monitoring the county’s expenditures.

“Contracting out is not the solution,” she said. “ I’m going to keep track of where this money is going.”

Several demonstrators questioning the board’s actions in the last month held signs at the foot of the courthouse steps, while other signs lined the hallway leading to the courtroom.

“We’re trying to make people realize what’s going on in the courthouse, not just the layoffs, but the tactics they’ve used to come to this point,” she said.

Denniston said he’s appreciative of the support expressed by county residents. “I want to thank the people who do compliment us,” he said.

On Aug. 12, commissioners voted to lay off four rock truck drivers and the three bridge crew members, but retain the foreman.

The attorney general’s office later reprimanded the commissioners for holding an illegal closed session in conjunction with the firings.

Commissioners then voided the firings in a special meeting Aug. 29 to avoid the legality of the vote coming into question.