Rush Township won’t be using part-time employees to plow and treat roads this winter.

At the monthly meeting last week, township supervisors’ Vice Chairman Robert Leibensperger said full-time employees will handle the work.

“What’s the reasoning behind that? What if you need somebody?” Supervisor George Gerhard asked.

“We have two sewer individuals who can come out for us if we need,” Leibensperger said. “And we’re doing it to conserve money.”

“Conserve money? But aren’t those guys paid more than the part-timers?” Gerhard asked.

Leibensperger said that when the township needs to plow, the full-time sewer personnel usually hit the roads to clear sewer rights-of-way.

“So they are out and as they are plowing those areas, they’re hitting the alleys and stuff like that for our other (road department) guys,” Leibensperger said.

Part-time summer road help will also be eliminated.

“Eventually down the road we might do something again but for now we’re not. We’re trying to conserve some money,” Leibensperger said. “We were overlapping too many people to do the same redundancy of plowing.”

He added that the township recently added another truck to the sewer department.

“Now, in essence, we have three pickup plow trucks, so we don’t need part-timers,” Leibensperger said.

He noted that the township isn’t terminating the part-time help, but removing any names from the township’s workers’ compensation policy.

According to Leibensperger, the township is charged workers’ compensation for anyone on the township’s employee roster — even if they are not working.