The continued use of temporary labor services was addressed during the City Council workshop Monday night for the Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments.
The city has recently piggybacked with Collier County when utilizing temporary labor services for entry level, unskilled workers for various jobs in Cape Coral.
Interim Public Works Director Steve Neff said in the past the city has used the temporary labor workers because they do routine tasks or whatever else is needed on a day’s notice. He said so far the city has found people that work out well and if for some reason they do not, they tell them to leave.
Since the workers are entry level, he said they are restricted to what type of manual labor they can do.
“The manual labor is very helpful for us to get labor done in an efficient way,” he said.
Mayor John Sullivan said he wants to be reassured that everything is being done in the right, legal way when hiring the temporary labor workers.
“I want to make sure we are legal here,” he said.
Neff said background checks are a part of what the firm is offering to make sure the worker is allowed to work.
Councilmember Bill Deile asked if they can delay the contract to Tampa Service Company Inc. until they learn what Collier County is paying for the services. He said if there is a significant difference it may be better to piggyback with Collier County.
If there is no time pressure to execute the contract, Deile said he would rather wait and see what the better deal is.