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Date: 8/15/2023
WHATELY — Town Administrator Brian Domina opened a discussion with the Selectboard about mutual aid among highway departments in nearby towns. It’s the default arrangement between towns, governed by an agreement at the state level, that local officials may not be aware of.
“I was interested to know that there is a state law that talks about public works mutual aid agreements,” Domina said. “It sort of lays it out, in terms of how that happens. I’m thinking more of the liability of it, or the legalities of it…and how it all plays out in damage and those types of things that nobody knows enough to think about in the face of an emergency.”
Chapter 40, section 4K of Mass. General Law, titled Public Works Municipal Mutual Aid Agreement, describes the relationship, during emergencies, between the highway departments of municipalities throughout the commonwealth. Whately signed onto the agreement on Sept. 13, 2011. The law allows for mutual aid in the form of personnel, equipment, supplies and facilities.
Section 4K defines towns that supply aid as senders and those requesting aid as requesters. The section clarifies that sending towns spend their own money to pay for fuel, payroll and other costs for the aid offered in a weather emergency. The requesting town then applies for relief money and reimburses the sending town for any expenses incurred.
Domina was prompted to raise the topic after Conway called on the town of Whately for assistance in July, when over 19 inches of rain fell on the town, causing more than $2 million in damages to roadways and infrastructure. Highway Department Supervisor Keith Bardwell mobilized an excavator and a front loader to respond to Conway’s request for aid. Bardwell also operated the equipment.
Domina was most curious about liability issues and what would happen if an accident or mishap caused property damage or loss.
“This…talks about the different legalities of that relationship and how it happens,” Domina said. “In this instance, if any claims should happen against the Town of Whately, Conway would have to indemnify us.”
Domina also commented that if two towns wanted to alter the statewide agreement, provisions in the law do allow it. Selectboard member Fred Baron questioned whether an agreement needed to be signed with each neighboring town. That would only be necessary if the towns wanted to alter the relationship.
The highway department mutual aid agreement is already in force among hundreds of towns in the commonwealth, including Whatley and Conway, that signed it.
Bardwell said a county level mutual aid coordinator acts as a clearinghouse of sorts for highway departments requesting mutual aid. The county coordinator should receive the call from a town requesting aid, after which the coordinator contacts other towns to provide aid. The protocol isn’t always followed and may not work smoothly.
“Mutual aid’s been around forever, but when it comes to highway stuff, DPW, it’s more recent. There’s still a learning curve,” Bardwell said. “Conway, they could’ve just requested it through the mutual aid program. It’s already pretty well set, but it still needs to have the kinks ironed out to make it work better.”
Baron asked whether it made any difference if mutual aid was requested from a municipality outside the county. If the aid was available only from Springfield, Domina said, it didn’t matter. The agreement is statewide. The discussion clarified, too, that towns could refuse to send mutual aid if it compromised a response to a local emergency.
Bardwell contacted Conway officials about submitting the paperwork for reimbursements for the July mutual aid. It hasn’t happened yet, he said, but it’s in the works. Baron also commented that the highway department mutual aid agreement applies only in major emergencies involving lots of people.
“In general, fire and ambulance are small scale events,” Baron said. “That’s usually involving one family, as opposed to responding by the DPW to roads or bridges getting washed out…and affecting a large number of people.”
Bardwell concurred. He told the board he’ll get together with Domina and they’ll ensure that town officials can quickly tap into the highway mutual aid program. Whatley will then be better prepared for the emergencies that are bound to come.
“This may be the way the weather’s going to trend for who knows how long, where we get these significant rain events over 24 to 36 hours,” Domina said. “Maybe we’ll be asking for help.”