Mayor Criticizes DPW Absentees During Storm

Mayor Charles Lombardi said Wednesday that snow removal is one of DPW's most important jobs and he finds it "a little upsetting" that some employees skipped work

The mayor of North Providence, Rhode Island, spoke out against Department of Public Works employees who didn't show up to help plow streets during the town's weekend snow removal efforts.

The Providence Journal reports Mayor Charles Lombardi said Wednesday that snow removal is one of DPW's most important jobs and he finds it "a little upsetting" that some employees skipped work.

Lombardi said DPW employees were asked on Friday if they could work Saturday. While most agreed they could, four people still didn't show up.

Just four workers who reported for Saturday's snow storm possessed commercial driver's licenses, a requirement for operating the town's bigger 11-foot plow trucks.

Council 94 president J. Michael Downey says an emergency was never declared and four absences isn't "an absurd amount" for a non-emergency.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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