A year after he was fined by the State Ethics Commission, the highway superintendent in Charlton, Massachusetts, says he's learned his lesson, filing proper paperwork before hiring two family members to help plow snow in town.
Gerry Foskett says he has no choice but to hire family members, saying he can't find anyone else willing to plow for $25 an hour.
"Twenty-five dollars just to plow, sitting in the truck nice and warm, it is not too bad, considering some of the other jobs they pay for doing harder work," Sean Hellscorn said. "It is a lot more than I get paid and I do 50,000 more work."
In a brief conversation, Foskett wouldn't elaborate how he tried to find other workers, calling the whole issue a "non-story."
Last year, the ethics commission fined Foskett $7,500 for not filing proper paperwork when it came to hiring two family members to plow snow.
"If you can't find people to do, you have to find someone to do it, you know what I mean?" Billy Konkel asked. "I grew up with the guy and, he has a lot of family members, too, and I can't really knock him."
"He has done a good job in Charlton so far, and he has been pretty good," he added.
U.S. & World
Charlton's town administrator declined a request to go on camera, calling the matter a personnel issue, adding the Board of Selectman's vote on Tuesday night about this issue speaks for itself.
