Binghamton fires DPW Commissioner Terry Kellog and Jon Yeager?

[Clyde]

Lots of talk going through the public sector saying Binghamton DPW Commissioner Terry Kellog and Deputy Commissioner Jon Yeager were fired this morning. If true, they will take the fall for the bad snow removal last week in this election year for Rich David.

[DanCooper]

Someone had to be on the chopping block.

[GTO]

Jon is a heck of nice guy, I hope they did not fire him.

[Seamus McPissed]

Jon is a heck of nice guy, I hope they did not fire him.

Agreed, but unfortunately he got canned too.

[Independent]

GTO he is a nice guy. i went to school with Jon. But He didn't have the experience (one year under Bucci) for the position and neither did Kellog. It's my understanding that Councilmen John Matzo had over 100 phone calls by his constituents in his District alone.

 

I was on Bob Joseph's show the first year Rich took office that winter we had a major storm the street's didn't get plowed for three day's. I had told the Mayor to hire or bring back Kim Ondrusek who had all the experience to do everything as head of DPW. Even if it was to just help Jon Yeager and Terry Kellog. Kim Ondrusek even offered to help FREE to both of them!!! Oh yes Kim will get back to you was the response.

 

 

It's was ignored by the Mayor,Terry Kellog and Jon Yeager. Before this all came about, the Mayor said on Bob's show he was going to hire the Brightest and most Qualified for department heads when he took office. That of course didn't happen and it showed.

 

Just to recap this past storm i helped plow out the largest truck in the DPW Fleet which was stuck on Henry Steet. Come to find out those large trucks (only 2 in the Fleet) don't have 4 wheel locking differentials. Can you imagine a fleet with only small truck's with 4 wheel drive and not heavy (a few 1 Ton trucks) enough to plow the amount of snow we received to cover the whole City.

 

I did the investigating to find the truth and found out this information as an issue only 9 men were on the morning of the storm with only 7 men in the trucks plowing 1 Mechanic and 1 Supervisor. Only 7 men plowing the whole City!! That's how many District's??? That's right 5. Not enough to cover the City what's so ever!!!!! That's not even 2 per District or the City for that matter. Will Bob Joseph address this on his Show i don't think so!!!

 

Another issue was that Jon was screeming to his help and talking down to them as well. I was told this by the help who are the front line to get thing's done in our City! You don't talk down to your help or screem at them like the're beneath you. WRONG!!!! Not manager material!!!!

 

Why do you think worker's called in sick and took vacation time for the reason's above. Jon Yeager should never been hired as i told the Mayor!

 

What a JOKE !!!

[DanCooper]

BJ never rocks the boat. Never asks the tough questions like Tony did. But this speaks to the failure of the David regime.

[Annie43]

Let see what happens the next snow storm! Bill Barber has been appointed Commissioner of Public Works..he is a great man and very caring..hope things work out! Glad the others were fried for not doing their jobs! Also hope they train snow plowers how to do the job!!

[snowman60]

Lots of talk going through the public sector saying Binghamton DPW Commissioner Terry Kellog and Deputy Commissioner Jon Yeager were fired this morning. If true, they will take the fall for the bad snow removal last week in this election year for Rich David.

Well its about time. They should have not been hired in the first place Terri doesn't even live in the city and Jon is worthless

[Bingking]

Rumor has it that the city of Binghamton may be ringing back. " John Mookie Whalen " to replace these guys

[Kaz]

GTO he is a nice guy. i went to school with Jon. But He didn't have the experience (one year under Bucci) for the position and neither did Kellog. It's my understanding that Councilmen John Matzo had over 100 phone calls by his constituents in his District alone.

 

I was on Bob Joseph's show the first year Rich took office that winter we had a major storm the street's didn't get plowed for three day's. I had told the Mayor to hire or bring back Kim Ondrusek who had all the experience to do everything as head of DPW. Even if it was to just help Jon Yeager and Terry Kellog. Kim Ondrusek even offered to help FREE to both of them!!! Oh yes Kim will get back to you was the response.

 

 

It's was ignored by the Mayor,Terry Kellog and Jon Yeager. Before this all came about, the Mayor said on Bob's show he was going to hire the Brightest and most Qualified for department heads when he took office. That of course didn't happen and it showed.

 

Just to recap this past storm i helped plow out the largest truck in the DPW Fleet which was stuck on Henry Steet. Come to find out those large trucks (only 2 in the Fleet) don't have 4 wheel locking differentials. Can you imagine a fleet with only small truck's with 4 wheel drive and not heavy (a few 1 Ton trucks) enough to plow the amount of snow we received to cover the whole City.

 

I did the investigating to find the truth and found out this information as an issue only 9 men were on the morning of the storm with only 7 men in the trucks plowing 1 Mechanic and 1 Supervisor. Only 7 men plowing the whole City!! That's how many District's??? That's right 5. Not enough to cover the City what's so ever!!!!! That's not even 2 per District or the City for that matter. Will Bob Joseph address this on his Show i don't think so!!!

 

Another issue was that Jon was screeming to his help and talking down to them as well. I was told this by the help who are the front line to get thing's done in our City! You don't talk down to your help or screem at them like the're beneath you. WRONG!!!! Not manager material!!!!

 

What a JOKE !!!

 

Maybe the mayor heard the Gov's speech saying hundreds of plows being dispatched to our area and thought the cavalry was on it's way? Maybe?

BTW - did anyone actually see these plows or did they get lost finding Binghamton?

[Jack McGurn]

Maybe it's time to de-politicize the the position of DPW Commissioner. Obviously, with the critical responsibilities being so, it's a vital position. Never do we see the Police or Fire Department heads changing from administration to administration. So?

 

Also, always believed it to be an exercise in inefficiency and waste when the City (County) would spend serious tax dollars to send Department heads to the various training sessions when in essence they were/are by definition temporary appointed employees at best. Hire the right temporary Department head if you must, but then invest primarily in the ground troops and mid level civil servants who have at the very least, the possibility of sticking around to practice their invested in skills......like plowing. Or change the civil service rule/classification to hire & train a "permanent" Department heads based on qualifications and ability.

[Monkey Man]

I don't really have an issue with firing these guys, but I take issue with how it was done. Calling the media to announce you're fired two people is absolutely classless. That may happen in Washington DC, but this is a small city. We all see each other at grocery stores, events, and restaurants. It's pretty damn cruel to hold a press conference to publicly humiliate two people, unless they were stealing city funds or committing horrible crimes.

 

Maybe these guys never should have been in these positions. Maybe they were bad at their jobs. And maybe the snow removal was terrible, but they didn't reserve this...

[2pelo Honey]

Let see what happens the next snow storm! Bill Barber has been appointed Commissioner of Public Works..he is a great man and very caring..hope things work out! Glad the others were fried for not doing their jobs! Also hope they train snow plowers how to do the job!!

 

 

Bill Barber was the former County Commish of P&R under Kraham, and not only was one of those who took huge payout for sick time, I believe, but after they were asked to return it, refused. It was somewhere close to $50k of taxpayer money. I didn't think he should've been hired for the City, and don't think he'll look out for anyone but himself now.

[FormerSomeone]

Maybe it's time to de-politicize the the position of DPW Commissioner. Obviously, with the critical responsibilities being so, it's a vital position. Never do we see the Police or Fire Department heads changing from administration to administration. So?

 

Also, always believed it to be an exercise in inefficiency and waste when the City (County) would spend serious tax dollars to send Department heads to the various training sessions when in essence they were/are by definition temporary appointed employees at best. Hire the right temporary Department head if you must, but then invest primarily in the ground troops and mid level civil servants who have at the very least, the possibility of sticking around to practice their invested in skills......like plowing. Or change the civil service rule/classification to hire & train a "permanent" Department heads based on qualifications and ability.

 

I agree. Streets, sewers, plowing and planning - should require a Civil Engineer. It was Luke Day in Ryan's admin. He was a welder.

 

DPW Manager should be Civil Service management tested and not appointed.

[Independent]

I also asked the new hire's on the street how they were trained. Ready for this.............They were put in a room to watch a DVD on how to plow.

 

No interaction with someone with experience who's done the job for many years the old crew is gone who did a fantastic job of PLOWING. There's only a few left who really know the job and know it well. The other issue is the equipment manager who spec's new equipment. He should be replaced, the large truck's ordered should have locking front axle 4 wheel capability. VOLVO as well as other Truck Company's have this option sure it's more expensive but the last snow fall prove's how much the City should have these large truck's at least 4. I saw more CITY truck's stuck in this last snow fall then any other in recent memory. Expensive.......sure but when live's are at stake it's a different story!

 

Years ago as a kid i remember when a snow emergency was ordered and all car's ordered off the streets (ALL). I would see these HUGE Brockway Twin Screw tandem axle Truck's with locking front axle's with Wing's on them did all the Larger Street's in the 50's and 60's.

 

When those Brockway Trucks were coming down the street in a snow storm all you would see is the nose of this HUGE TRUCK with snow flying everywhere.

 

With the wings they were able to do the whole street from one side to the other almost! No Car's were allowed to travel unless it was emergency worker's Police, Hospital and Ambulance as well as Fire ONLY allowed on the Street's!

[Captian Slow]

I came across this video from a municipal auction last spring in western New York a while back. I couldn't help but notice three distinctively dark green, and distinctively Binghamton DPW, International plow trucks including a tandom were on the block. At 3:10 and at 6:05. I was kind of shocked at the time that they'd be getting rid of these newer trucks (one looks like it's right off the showroom). But it explains why there's nothing left but 550s.

 

https://youtu.be/okbDhNi1pK4

[FormerSomeone]

Pretty interesting letter submitted as a rebuttal by Terry Kellogg at the end of this article.

 

http://www.wbng.com/story/34974034/top-officials-with-binghamton-public-works-dept-let-go-after-storm-response

[Cosmopolitan ConklinColt]

Kellogg released this statement in response to his dismissal:

 

On Wednesday, March 22nd, Mayor Rich David asked that First Deputy Commissioner Jon Yeager and I tender our resignations effective immediately. The reason given for our dismissal was the inadequate response provided by the Public Works Department during the recent blizzard that left nearly three feet of snow blanketing our City.

Normally I wouldn’t respond to such criticism in a public forum, but in the interest of full disclosure and in response to the Mayor’s March 22nd press conference, I feel the need to make the following statement.

Despite what may be said about our performance, we did everything within our capabilities to return this City to normal as quickly as possible. On top of our regular snow removal duties on City streets, we worked tirelessly with the County Emergency Operations Center staff, the Arena Manager and the NYSDOT to get the downtown area and the NYSEG Stadium parking lot cleared in time for the NYS Boys High School Basketball Championships – the event’s inaugural visit to Binghamton – which started last Friday morning.

The Mayor himself used adjectives such as “historic”, “epic”, “unprecedented” and “once in a lifetime” to describe this recent storm. Unfortunately, our snow removal capabilities were impaired by far fewer employees and larger plow trucks than even ten or fifteen years ago due to the fiscal constraints we face as a City that has lost half its population, but still has to maintain the same number of miles of City streets. In addition to fewer budgeted positions within DPW, our equipment is not replaced as often as I would like and more breakdowns occur as a result of this. The DPW, under our leadership, had a nearly one-half million dollar surplus in 2016; however, the Mayor chose to use this budget surplus in other areas. To achieve the nominal tax cut the Mayor desired in 2017, the Public Works Department was, again, denied the purchase of any new equipment in the 2017 budget despite my requests for new plow trucks, new garbage trucks, and a new Bobcat with a truck-loading snow-blower for snow removal after heavy storms.

During this most recent storm, abnormally high numbers of employees failed to report for duty due to calling in sick, some submitting previously unplanned vacation requests after the storm began, and others submitting emergency personal day requests which, contractually, can’t be denied - just when we needed these people the most! In addition, accidents and equipment damage (over $40,000.00 in damage over 48 hours) occurred due to the extreme conditions under which we were working. At some point late Tuesday, the men and women (the City’s true heroes) who did report to work were simply overwhelmed by the magnitude of the snowstorm and abandoned the side streets in hopes of keeping the emergency routes open. We continued through the end of the week and last weekend working around the clock plowing and hauling snow until all the streets were opened up. First Deputy Commissioner Jon Yeager and I were in constant contact with each other, with our Superintendent of Streets Bernice St. Clair, and with the four Supervisors executing the snow cleanup plan throughout the entire weekend. In many cases, most of those employees plowing snow worked in excess of 60 hours over a 7-day period only to go home and have to shovel out their own driveways and clear their own rooftops before returning for another 12-hour shift.

After reviewing video from the press conference held by the Mayor earlier this evening, I would like to respond to some specific points as follows:

I agree with the Mayor that there have been long-term deficiencies in the Department of Public Works. Over a year ago, I brought to the Mayor’s attention deficiencies in our workforce, equipment, and training. The City of Binghamton did not have the resources to handle a storm of this magnitude. Therefore, the storm did expose those deficiencies. Although the Mayor stated there were long-term deficiencies, he dismissed myself, and Deputy Jon Yeager, both of whom have recently joined the department after the Mayor’s successful election and it was us who brought the above stated deficiencies to his attention.

The Mayor made the statement “all plows were deployed”. This statement confirms that all available resources were in use, and further shows a lack of available resources for a storm of this magnitude. In regard to the inquiry made questioning city vehicles being seen outside of the city limits, it should be noted that all vehicles have GPS, and management is notified if those vehicles leave the city. No such notifications were received during this event. In regard to the lack of resources, it should be noted that the DPW budget had a $500,000 surplus at the end of 2016. The purchase of any snow removal equipment was denied by the Mayor and this surplus was used for other various initiatives outside our department. Moreover, my requests for additional equipment were denied for fiscal year 2017 as well.

The Mayor also stated the equipment used by DOT was more effective than the F-550 trucks the city had that kept getting stuck. This further shows that Binghamton does not have the equipment needed to handle a storm of this magnitude. He now wants to address the equipment, but perhaps the request for additional equipment should have been approved when initially requested and the financial resources were available to accommodate my requests.

The negative impacts from the Mayor lifting of the City-declared State of Emergency and Travel Ban at 6:00 AM on Wednesday, March 15th cannot be overlooked. The Mayor stated in his press conference, that he retrospectively continues to believe he made the best decision in lifting the City travel ban 6 hours before the County Travel Ban was lifted. In my opinion, the Mayor’s premature lifting of the Travel Ban ultimately stemmed from a lack of communication between the Mayor and DPW as well as a lack of communication and coordination between the Mayor and the County. The decision to lift the Travel Ban, which I questioned was even legal to do, was made solely by the Mayor without prior consultation with myself or First Deputy Yeager. Regretfully, I learned about it via a Press Release I received too late to ask the Mayor to reconsider – especially since the County and State officials still had their travel bans in place.

After the first day of this storm, the City of Binghamton’s fleet was reduced to less than half, due to breakdowns, damage, and the ineffectiveness of the F-550’s in deep snow. At that time, I provided the Mayor with a list of supplemental snow removal equipment needed to open up the remaining streets and requested that the list be forwarded to the County Emergency Operations Center. The Mayor advised me to hold off on these requests in hopes that we could somehow complete the work without assistance.

Once the Travel Ban was lifted, it created widespread confusion among our residents, as well as made requesting additional help from the County and State truly difficult. It made clearing the streets even more difficult for our drivers, and it gave many the impression that all streets were clear when, in fact, over 160 (20%+) City streets had gone unplowed since Tuesday afternoon when they became impassible with our smaller plow trucks that typically perform this work on the side streets and dead ends.

I agree with the Mayor that it is unfair to compare Binghamton to other local municipalities because of the disproportionate number of miles of city streets among the municipalities. Had the Mayor not prematurely lifted the Travel Ban, there would have been no negative impression since the County and State bans were still in effect, and the remaining work could have been executed in a more efficient manner without as many cars on the road.

I agree with the Mayor’s points regarding downtown parking causing a significant challenge in clearing the streets of snow. However, a temporary emergency on-street parking ban could have been issued by the Mayor, similar to what was done in other municipalities. This would have enhanced recovery efforts; however, this was not done by the Mayor.

The Mayor mentioned when he first came into office he focused on police and security. He provided additional manpower, training, and equipment. The Mayor now states he is focusing on DPW. However, instead of providing DPW with the same enhancements in manpower, training, and equipment, he has elected to make further cuts to balance the budget.

In my two-plus years as the Commissioner of Public Works, I am extremely proud of the many accomplishments that our leadership team has made. We have achieved every goal put in front of us by this administration as well as many goals that we set ourselves to improve the operation. We finished paving 15 miles of streets last November on a Friday and started plowing snow the following Monday.

In closing, it should be known that my First Deputy Commissioner, our Superintendent of Streets - the person who actually provides oversight of the day-to-day operations of the Public Works Department, and I all came to the City with many years of private sector management experience and we tried to infuse private-sector strategies and accountabilities into this organization. Perhaps it was just too much, too soon, and this storm provided a convenient way to change the leadership and revert back to the old way of doing things.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have served the residents of this great City, but I am disappointed that my work here will be cut short because of one unavoidable natural disaster – the finale to a record-breaking 130-inch-plus winter season. As a leader who can acknowledge when my team’s performance fell short of the desired service level, I want to extend my sincerest apology for those who were snowbound longer than they should have been during this storm. I agree with the Mayor that there were areas that did not receive the best and highest level of service. However, I can honestly say that I am extremely proud of my DPW team, who worked tirelessly throughout the days and nights following the storm, and provided the best and highest level of service that could be achieved with the resources available to them.


Sincerely,

Terry J. Kellogg


Former Commissioner of Public Works, City of Binghamton

[DanCooper]

Terry seems very sincere in his response. But did he voice his concerns to City Council after he was brushed off by Mayor David? Don't get me wrong: the true villains here are the layabouts who abandoned their posts and the Mayor for not providing his managers what they needed.

[Independent]

Let's be honest here. Although i like Chris Papistrat and other council member's none of them have the the NUTS to speak out for anything. Have you heard one word out of Chris??? Or Matzo for that matter? I sent a text to the Mayor the other day after he had called me twice about the storm. Telling him it's about time something was done not knowing the real reason's as explained by Terry Kellog about equipment (I knew they were in trouble about the equipment) and employee issue's. I understand why the employee's failed to work but that was brought on by Jon Yeager and his disrespect for the employees's underneath him!

 

I spoke to the Mayor about this as well that he would have problems as this if not addressed but it went on deaf ears.

 

He and i spoke about the amount of Snow that we were receiving while i was out plowing. What bothers me is when the (i Called Rich) Governor showed up for a Dog and Pony show which Rich told me he was there for second's before the press conference and photo op and couldn't talk for just a few second's.

 

I would have told the Governor i don't have time for this. Thank you anyway Governor but if your offering asst. then please send it. With out the photo op and Press Conference. As far as i'm concerned if the Governor was sincere he should have sent the help without the Dog and Pony Show!

[The Insider]

 

The way this matter was handled by David shows a total lack of professionalism and leadership on his part. It is evident if the letter written by Mr.Kellogg is fifty percent true the equipment and manpower were not available to handle that amount of snow in such a short period. It appears Mr.Kellogg requested the needed equipment and David refused him.

 

I did not see the news conference where David announced he had fired the Commissioner and Deputy but I doubt that David accepted any of the blame himself, a true leader would have. David is very good at patting himself on the back and taking credit when things go well and when they don't he calls a news conference to finger point and blame others.

 

Many in City Hall have come to believe that David is nothing but an very overstuffed suit. City Council will do nothing about this and for the most part they are a rubber stamp for David and do as they are told by him. David should be ashamed for many things just add the handling of this matter to the list.

[FormerSomeone]

Give the credit. Take the blame. That's the sign of a good manager.

 

But maybe public affairs is different from production or office management? ;-)

[Annie43]

The mayor was on 1290 today..he makes me so mad! Also, Yeager's wife called in and so did former Mayor Ryan..it was interesting listening to blame this one and blame that one!

[PARMELEE]

Here's the gonad buster about this one....David fires these guys for doing a mediocre job with snow removal.....Yet and YET he allows Chief Z to stay on the job....This so called police chief has cost the city millions in law suits, not just of the sexual kind but also of the major screw up kind, he has covered up the crimes of his family and friends and from what has been reported even his people are unhappy with him....Yet David allows him to stay and fires these two guys...You have to question the morals and leadership skills of David.....To me it seems like we have Boss Hog running the show...

[Caveman]

Me thinks it's time for the citizens of Binghamton to review the workers contract and see if there shouldn't be some changes made....like HAVING TO REPORT TO WORK DURING THESE EMERGENCY TIMES! Those who didn't show up and have no Doctors excuse should also be fired!