PARIS — The Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 on Monday night to run an advertisement for another full-time employee for the town’s Highway Department.

Interim Town Manager Dawn Waisanen said Road Foreman Jamie Hutchinson reviewed his budget and determined there was enough money to add another full-time employee.

Waisanen said she and Hutchinson did “some number crunching” and figured having an extra employee would decrease the amount of plowing each of the department’s six employees would have to do during a storm, allowing for sidewalks and parking lots to be cleared sooner.

“The idea is that a storm may be cleared in three hours, instead of four or five hours,” Waisanen said.

She added an extra employee “could also eliminate some overtime in that budget,” and would free up Hutchinson to do more “administrative duties, rather than spending time in the truck.”

Chairman Rusty Brackett said he agreed an extra employee would be advantageous for the Highway Department.

“Plus, with Jamie being our road commissioner right now, it probably would be good to have him doing more administrative duties,” Brackett added.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

Interim Town Manager Dawn Waisanen, right, speaks with the Board of Selectmen, including Selectman John Andrews, left, and Chairman Rusty Brackett, about adding another full-time employee to the town’s Highway Department. (Sun Journal photo by Matthew Daigle)