Milwaukee's shortage of plow drivers continues heading into the winter months.
Delays in leaf collection signaled similar issues on the horizon once snow hits as the same people that clear leaves prepare to do snow and ice control.
"DPW like any other organization in the country right now is just having problems filling vacancies. We did increase pay last year. We've been flexible in how we bring in new workers and train them along with doing continuous recruitment which began this year," DPW spokesperson Brian DeNeve explained.
DPW is budgeted for 277 operation driver workers. The pool covers everything from snow and ice control to sanitation, forestry, and infrastructure. However, DeNeve said about 20% of those positions are empty noting that the figure fluctuates.
"Challenge is when we have vacancies the more and more of those program areas will be impacted in having to do snow and ice control. That could mean a delay in garbage and recycling collection or maybe not as many crews out doing pothole filling," DeNeve said. "We like to try to be as flexible as possible in filling these vacancies but you know we can only do what we can do when it comes to a population that doesn’t have the background or maybe as an interested in doing this type of work."
"I think citizens across the city are going to start realizing it's a new reality," District 4 Alderman Robert Bauman said.
Bauman added that the state legislature needs to step in to help the city stay competitive and fill these jobs.
"We can't afford to raise these wage scales. Why? Because the city lacks the revenue to do so," Ald. Bauman said.
