A Reason to be Thankful
November 21, 2023 (Chesapeake Beach, MD)- As we approach Thanksgiving, please join us as we take a moment to be thankful for the Town employees who work day and night to ensure Town residents have the services needed through preparation, education, mentorship and teamwork.
Today, we celebrate Dennis Burger's recent accomplishment of obtaining the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) Class T2 Water System Operators Licensure. Dennis now joins Jay Berry (Public Works Administrator) and DJ Richardson (Assistant Superintendent of Public Works) in holding the Class T2 Water System Operators Licensure—a license known throughout the State for its meager pass rate.
"I commend Dennis on his recent accomplishment. While Dennis has serviced the equipment needed to provide our drinking water, he can now complete that work without direct supervision, positioning the Town to address critical infrastructure failures in a time of need", stated Jay Berry, Public Works Administrator.
"The Mayor and Town Council join me in congratulating Dennis on his accomplishment and also recognizes Jay Berry, Public Works Administrator, for his mentorship of a team that is willing, able and motivated to rise to any occasion for Town citizens", added Holly Wahl, Town Administrator.
Increased redundancy: Additional licensed employees equipped to handle critical infrastructure means more redundancy for the Town and less reliance on outsourcing skill sets. While the Town has satisfied its needs for employees holding the license, it maintains training protocols to fund on-the-job training, providing the resources necessary for employees to qualify and pass the exam. However, it takes more than providing the funds for training for the Town to prepare for the future. It also requires supervisors who take pride in mentoring their staff and a significant amount of dedication and preparation from the individual to accomplish a passing score.
Wearing many hats: Water is just one of many focuses for Dennis, and he has brought a range of valuable skill sets to the Town over the past five years working for the Town. Initially hired for his mechanical abilities, Dennis immediately stood out as an employee dedicated to maintaining and servicing the Town assets used to maintain infrastructure. Dennis excels at keeping detailed records of vehicle and equipment maintenance, maintains an emergency parts inventory, and can perform repairs in-house, saving the Town significantly in costs and time. Dennis has also worked as a Code Enforcement Officer for the Town and maintains an eye for issues when working in the field daily.
Resourceful and innovative: Dennis maintains a creative attitude and resourceful approach to problems. One example of his resourcefulness is retrofitting water meter lids to adapt to the Town's new tower read system. Understanding the cost of new covers, Dennis proposed a plan to retrofit the old lids. Even when many vendors conveyed that the retrofit was impossible, Dennis did not allow that to stop him, taking on the project and saving the Town thousands of dollars by retrofitting existing lids in use today.
Pictured Above Dennis Burger, Town of Chesapeake Beach Public Works Employee
Thank you to our hardworking Town of Chesapeake Beach Public Works employees, always visible, always available, always improving. We are thankful for you!
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