To the editor:

We've read the two articles in the Times concerning the charter change and where DPW employees stand on the charter changes, but some clarification is still needed.

In simple terms, DPW employees will never reject work or are afraid of any type of work. Unlike some other people who would rather have you believe the opposite. 

The message to us from Town Hall is "what do you care what you do, it's a job." Not true, we do care!

We are vested employees in this community, some of us are long-term residents unlike Mr. Cunha, but all of us have one thing in common, we care what happens in our department (DPW) and the overall town, especially when it will have a direct impact on services and the quality of life and what we as residents and employees are accustomed to.

Our department is one of the most structural, organized, efficiently run departments in Rhode Island and probably Southeastern New England. We are the prototype department of what every community wants to be. We operate five departments — Park and Rec, Sewer Division, Forestry Division, Building Maintenance Division, and Roads, Ditches and Sidewalks Division. Also, let's not forget the compost facility, recycling center and all exterior school grounds including playgrounds.

Everything we just mentioned in other cities would be separate divisions or departments and the cost to operate all this would be astronomical. Here in Barrington we are all amalgamated into one department. It has been a long journey to get to this point with a lot of hard work from different people.

Our department has been struggling with manpower issues for decades, as our responsibilities have grown and manpower has decreased, going from 35 people in the mid-1980s to 22 people in 2018. We as a union understand economics — they are what they are and sometimes things have to change. But the charter change that's being proposed is a sham. 

When Mr. Cunha got hired he was very lucky and walked into a smooth efficient turnkey operation. He likes to use the word "efficiency." Typical. And that turns into "saving money." Typical political gibberish. 

How is it efficient when you got every department scrambling around and constantly micro-managing. How is it efficient taking manpower from the municipal side of the budget, which is about 25 percent of the overall budget, and you start using that inside the schools, which is covered by the school budget that has 75 percent of the overall budget?

It makes no sense and has no accountability for the municipal side of the budget.

That charter ordinance is in there for just that one reason, to protect the municipal side of things and yes, one of those things is where to properly use the manpower. We want the residents to understand that something always has to give — you put DPW working inside the schools, guaranteed something is not getting done on the municipal side: your fields being maintained, your streets getting swept, your pothole being repaired, etc.

So in one hand, Mr. Cunha is tripling fees on sports leagues, which we don't agree with and find it unnecessary. When reading last week's article on the field fees, Mr. Cunha still can't explain how tripling fees is going to help the leagues or the DPW. His reasoning for the fee hike is it takes a lot of manpower to maintain fields and keep up with all their demands, but in the other hand he is opening a window so that he can use DPW manpower inside the school buildings. 

Like we said, it makes no sense and is contradicting. 

It's great to have a rich man's taste, my friends, but it doesn't work when you have a poor man's budget in your wallet.

Protect your municipal budget — vote No on Question 5.

Kevin Braga

East Providence

Carlos Pedroza

Wyoming, RI

Mr. Braga is union president of USW Local 14845. Mr. Pedroza is union chairperson of USW Local 14845. Both men are Barrington DPW employees.