Jasper board plans more cross-training for city employees and purchase of a message board.JASPER, Tenn. - Some Jasper employees have done their jobs for so long, they're the only ones who know how to do the work.
Now, with several retirements looming, city leaders are trying to get new workers trained for those jobs before time runs out.
Alderman Steve Looney said the supervisor at the town's sewer plant is the only one around who knows how to do that job, and that has spurred the Jasper Board of Mayor and Aldermen to "look a little further into the future" to find workers who can be trained to serve in multiple roles.
"One of these days somebody's going to have to do his job," Looney said. "I've been in that position myself where I've been caught red-handed [without a trained employee for a job]. We don't want that to happen in the city of Jasper."
Officials said the average age of current city employees is about 53.
The board voted unanimously last week to hire a water plant operator trainee and a part-time water department worker.
Mayor Paul Evans said money would be set aside in the next fiscal year's budget to hire a sewer plant trainee, too.
"We'll flip-flop them [the new employees], so they'll be cross-trained," he said. "That is the goal of this board."
The board also approved a plan to buy an electronic message board for City Hall soon by issuing a request for proposals.
Evans said city leaders have raised about 40 percent of the estimated $13,000 to $16,000 cost for the sign through local donations, and he thinks the town should pay the rest.
"I would like to get that [sign] up so we can start advertising community events well in advance so people can make plans," he said. "I think it would benefit the town."
He said that money the town is saving from switching phone and Internet service providers recently will be "more than enough to cover this."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.