Traverse City will pay three new, seasonal employees $15 per hour to help in its snow removal effort. The new hires will be part of a five-person team that will prioritize 79 miles of city sidewalks and eight miles of the TART Trail.
The city commission approved the new hires at its meeting last night.
City Commissioner Ross Richardson said it is “high time” the city expanded snow removal from streets to non-motorized pathways.
“This is a service that I think the citizens expect," said Richardson. "Not because they’re lazy and don’t want to do their own sidewalk but because they use the sidewalks (and) we have become dependent on the city to serve that function.”
The new employees will prioritize snow removal from sidewalks, trails and bus stops – in that order. Commissioners said they view the hiring as a one-year experiment, with the goal of working a longer-term snow removal plan into next year’s budget.