What job in the public sector has been facing the greatest scrutiny in recent months? Judging by the suspensions and a recent trip to court, it is the supervisors for the area streets departments and public works.

Since the middle of May, three managers have been in a pressure cooker of sorts for one reason or another. Last week, Jack Boland was apparently suspended by the village of Fredonia – even though he has been at work – after not being reappointed to his position. Ralph Crawford was suspended as well, with pay, in Silver Creek. Still on the job, but facing possible jail time or a fine in August, is Andrew Thompson in Westfield.

Thompson’s case may be the one with the biggest microscope. He has pleaded guilty of illegally dumping raw sewage into Chautauqua Creek in June 2014 in a federal court. Though the village says the release was done due to heavy rainfall, video witnessed by the OBSERVER clearly shows it is a sunny day when the sewage was allowed into the creek.

There was no distress or urgency during the release, which is likely why the state Department of Environmental Conservation and federal authorities are making an example out of this.

Even other municipal DPW chiefs have faced an unwanted spotlight recently. Forestville’s Charles Brewster has made residents there irate more than once over the village’s water crisis, which seems to have been alleviated. Dunkirk’s Greg Bennice, on the job for less than six months, has been chastised by residents at committee meetings.

The position, which includes excellent benefits with a salary, is a 24-7 job. And when a crisis happens, it is the chief of the department who will take the most blame.

Tony Gugino, who was Dunkirk’s DPW chief for 12 years, loved the job while living the migraine. He even has a magazine cover framed with a picture of an empty desk and a headline that asks, “Who would want to be a public works director?”

When he took over the city department in 2004, there were 23 employees. When he left in January, the work force was down to 13. “It’s pretty disconcerting,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure. I’m a pretty ambitious guy, but due to financial constraints, public works departments across the county and nation are constantly losing manpower.”

Fair or not, our newspaper has been critical of the work that has been done. Some of the criticism, especially when an official tells taxpayers they “are going to do less” is warranted. Taxes for all municipalities are not going down. Why do residents deserve less services?

Of course, there is a solution to these problems that few want to discuss. Have one department – headed by the county – overseeing all the municipalities. While elected leaders may say this could never happen, it almost already is.

Gugino, who is proud of his accomplishments in the city, admits neighboring departments work well together. “In the spirit of looking forward, unless something changes … sometimes you have to reach out,” he said. “For many years we did shared services quietly and without a lot of fanfare. That’s the only reason we did survive.”

Under former County Executive Mark Thomas, a number of roads and bridges became the responsibility of the county. For instance, the Risley Street bridge in Fredonia, constructed in 2010, was done by a contractor and handled by the Department of Public Facilities, not the village. In addition, roads under county control also are plowed by Chautauqua County vehicles, not your municipality.

Speaking of Fredonia, most of its major roads are being plowed by an entity other than the village. Even Central Avenue maintenance has been handed off to the county in April.

“I thought it was a good idea because we have the college, so obviously it’s a street that is ridden by many people out of the village and when they come to live at the college, so I thought that was a good reason,” village Mayor Athanasia Landis said after the agreement. “Plus the continuity is a big thing; it’s easy for them to do it. I think it’s a win-win situation.”

A bigger victory, however, is a more regional and combined approach to how these departments function in the future.

John D’Agostino is the OBSERVER publisher. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 366-3000, ext. 401.