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Bedford Department of Public Works (DPW) employee Frank Zipp and custodian Kevin Carroll became the first-ever town employees to lose their jobs due to budget cuts when the Town Board adopted its 2012 budget in December 2011.
But in February, Zipp found himself rehired to his job of three years as a mechanical equipment operator for the DPW.
Zipp and supporters had laid out his case to the Town Board at a public hearing before council members went on to pass the budget, which included an annual property tax increase of 2.78 percent, equal to $53.09 for the average household in town.
In the meantime, while members of the town's blue collar bargaining unit and the Town Board struggled to find common ground, another town worker retired due to disability.
The retirement allowed the town to give Zipp his old job back. Zipp had been worried he would lose his home as he endured two months of unemployment, avidly pursuing a job hunt as he faced uncertainty about the future,
Bedford Supervisor Lee V.A. Roberts and DPW Commissioner Kevin Winn said they were relieved they could rehire Zipp, whom Winn called an asset to the department.
“It was very painful to have to lay off Frank last December, and it was only because of his being the least senior of the employees of the DPW,” Roberts said in February. “We are excited to be able to rehire him and we’re happy to have him back.”
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