BROCTON — Board members in the village of Brocton have had a unique quandary in front of them for the past few months. As of March 23, Streets Supervisor Tom Allen officially retired after 45 years of service to the municipality and the board has been hard at work trying to find an acceptable solution to fill his absence.

Because of Allen’s unique title and job description, it’s been nearly impossible for the village to find a solution through the Civil Service route to replace all that Allen provided. With an Intermunicipal Agreement forthcoming in draft form from the town of Portland, the town and the village have currently decided under a shared services agreement to pay a stipend to Town Highway Supervisor Ken Becker for management duties of the village’s current Streets Department employees. Town Water Supervisor Drew Smith will also be included in certain management duties as needed, per Town Supervisor Dan Schrantz.

Brocton Mayor Richard Frost said this has been one of the most difficult decisions he’s had to make. “With 45 years on the job, there are no words that can accurately express the amount of appreciation we have for Tommy. He is more than willing to share information with Ken as things come up, but he’s also not looking for a part-time job. He and Ken spent some time together before his last day, and they have worked together over the years as workers in neighboring municipalities, and so far, it seems to be working out great,” he said.

The mayor added that the shared service arrangement will continue on a trial basis for at least six months to see how smoothly the solution works out. The topic discussed at the Brocton/Portland Shared Service Committee meeting to hammer out the best and most sensible solution for all involved. They mayor reiterated that this agreement exists for streets employees only and that other departments will operate as normal.