Highway Department in Crisis? Staffing Shortages Renew Questions About Turnover, Transparency
By Christopher Kelleher
BROOKFIELD — One of Brookfield’s most important departments appears to be operating without a highway superintendent. The Highway Department reportedly consists of a single highway operator and a part-time clerk, raising serious questions about how the town intends to maintain normal operations and respond to emergencies.
The staffing shortage also raises practical concerns. Many highway operations require multiple employees for safety and efficiency. With only one operator reportedly remaining, residents are left wondering how certain tasks will be performed and whether the department has sufficient personnel to respond to emergencies, storms, or other unexpected events.
The apparent departure of the department’s leader comes amid years of concerns about employee turnover, workplace complaints, and questions about the role of town leadership in department operations.
The Brookfield Examiner recently submitted a public records request seeking a resignation letter related to the superintendent’s departure. The town responded that it does not possess a resignation letter.
As a result, residents are left with unanswered questions.
Who is currently overseeing the department?
What is the plan to restore staffing levels?
And why has there been so little public discussion?
The Highway Department is responsible for maintaining roads, responding to storms, operating equipment, and handling many of the day-to-day public works functions that residents rely upon year-round.
Yet despite the significance of the department, there has been no public explanation regarding the leadership vacancy and no publicly discussed staffing plan.
The lack of information is particularly notable because concerns about employee turnover have been raised before.
Months ago, residents asked the Select Board to publicly discuss turnover within town government. According to residents who attended the meeting, then-Chair Richard Chaffee indicated the matter would be placed on a future agenda.
That discussion never occurred.
Since then, residents have received little public information about major personnel changes.
The concerns extend beyond the Highway Department alone.
Over the past several years, Brookfield has experienced turnover across multiple positions within town government. Employees have departed, vacancies have remained open for extended periods, and residents have repeatedly questioned whether town officials are doing enough to retain qualified personnel.
The Highway Department’s current staffing situation may be the most visible example, but it is not the only example residents point to when discussing employee retention and workplace concerns within town government.
At the same time, complaints from former employees have continued to raise concerns about workplace conditions and interactions with town leadership.
According to written complaints reviewed by the Brookfield Examiner, former employees alleged hostile interactions involving town leadership. One former employee alleged being yelled at while attempting to perform job duties. Another complaint described repeated work-related communications that the employee considered inappropriate and stressful.
Town officials have not publicly responded to the specific claims.
Questions have also been raised about transparency surrounding employee departures.
For many years, resignations from town positions and volunteer boards were routinely acknowledged publicly through Select Board agendas and meetings. For years, residents could often see when employees or volunteers resigned and follow discussions regarding vacancies and replacements.
That practice appears to have changed.
Today, many personnel departures are no longer publicly listed in the same manner, making it more difficult for residents to determine when employees or volunteers leave town service and how vacancies are being addressed.
Critics argue that the change has reduced transparency at a time when concerns about turnover have become more pronounced.
What is clear is that questions about employee retention have persisted for months.
Residents have repeatedly asked why employees continue to leave town service. To date, there has been no comprehensive public discussion addressing those concerns.
The current situation at the Highway Department has only intensified those questions.
With the apparent loss of the Highway Superintendent and a department reportedly operating with only one highway operator and one part-time clerk, questions that have lingered for months are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Whether the Highway Department’s current staffing situation is temporary or part of a broader pattern remains unclear.
What is clear is that one of Brookfield’s most important departments appears to be operating without a superintendent, residents have been given few answers, and questions that were raised months ago about turnover remain unanswered.
For now, the biggest question may be the simplest one:
How did the town get here?