MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia State Senator Mike Oliverio hopes to see public-private sector partnerships be considered to increase support for the State Department of Highways.
After conversations about the situation in North Central West Virginia with State Transporation Secretary Jimmy Wriston during interim meetings in December, Oliverio has called for an increase in public-private sector partnerships to address areas affected by labor shortages. This includes companies that specialize in core maintenance road work (i.e., pothole filling, ditch clearing, etc.) to address jobs that the DOH might not be able to handle due to a lack of labor.
“I’m looking for more public-private partnerships where we reach out to companies that can come in and support our DOH efforts,” said Oliverio.
According to Oliverio, one of the most affected counties in West Virginia related to the DOH labor woes has been Monongalia County. Despite Wriston telling state senators and delegates that all 55 counties are close to one hundred percent completed for core maintenance work, this has been contested by both local officials and Oliverio based on conversations with constituents. While both state and local representatives have acknowledged the influence of the labor shortages, Oliverio feels this gives more of a reason to look towards the private sector.
“We have pockets of our state where we are just simply not able to meet the core maintenance requirements, or we’re not able to maintain our roads properly,” said Oliverio. “And unfortunately, one of those pockets is the area that I represent,” he said.
Based on conversations with DOH officials and employees, Oliverio says the salaries for what would be road workers have been a major influence on the labor woes. One option that Oliverio feels should be considered on a state level is to implement locality pay so that in areas such as the DOH’s District 4 (which includes Monongalia County), salaries for road workers would be competitive. However, due to the overall state legislature’s stance on locality pay, Oliverio feels public-private partnerships may be the best solution.
“We have a majority at this point in the legislature that doesn’t support the concept of locality, so we can’t pay more money in an area where it’s more expensive to live,” said Oliverio. “And as a result of that, areas like ours simply cannot attract or retain enough people,” he said.
Oliverio also mentioned that, due to the majority of state leaders not being supportive of locality pay, the odds of that direction being explored are considered very slim. Added to the complications, representatives from the DOH have not accepted requests from county commissions and local municipalities to contribute their own funds to handle the core maintenance of state roads within county limits. So for Oliverio, whose county he represents is expected to receive the brunt of the blowback, if no other options are considered on a state level, then public-private partnerships appear to be the best direction to take.
“If we can’t attract enough people in the public sector, we need to reach out to the private sector,” said Oliverio. “Where we have a local trucking company, for example, that can come in and plow roads and salt roads, help us with maintenance, so that’s the direction we need to go,” he said.