Highway superintendent requires technical expertise

By BEN JOHNSON

A recent editorial in the Sullivan County Democrat questioned whether the position of Town of Tusten Highway Superintendent should be elected or appointed. It concluded, I think in error, that the position should remain elected. The editorial argued, correctly, that technical positions such as the tax assessor and building inspector should be appointed based upon the skills required for these positions and not “via a person’s skills at politicking or popularity among his neighbors.” But it failed to recognize that highway superintendent is just such a position.

The position of highway superintendent involves more than just the plowing of snow. Specifically in the Town of Tusten, whose highway budget is over $1 million, the superintendent is responsible for the management of this budget, including making decisions on the best and most affordable technology in which to maintain existing roads and construct new ones. Aside from plowing snow, he will also make critical choices on the methods for ice management and skid control during the winter months. The selection of trucks and equipment also requires the experience of someone who has been involved with the use of this equipment and their associated problems and efficiencies. The list of disciplines is never ending, including OSHA/Department of Labor safety issues, Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, storm water management, efficient administration of employees and assembling a responsible budget. The successes and failures of this position will affect many times the annual budget amount in assets owned by the taxpayers and well past the duration of that elected official’s term of office.

One of the many problems with the position being elected and not appointed is that the elected highway official can have no qualifications assigned to it other than those mandated by law. No hours of operation, no job experience and no education are required if the position is elected. In making the position accountable to the public, the town board as a matter of policy will set these requirements, not to manage the day-to-day operation of a well working department but to assure its continued efficiency by establishing the framework and provide the tools for the superintendent to do so. Currently, we are fortunate to have a qualified highway superintendent who has come up through the ranks as equipment operator and foreman and works well with other departments. This has not always been the case. The editorial also concluded that the position, if elected, would be isolated from political pressures. One can be assured that there is no position less isolated from political pressures than the elected one.

I agree that the electoral process should be used for policy-making positions and not for technical positions. The highway superintendent position does not involve public policy; that is the responsibility of the elected town board and the state legislature. The manner in which the position of highway superintendent is now decided has long been antiquated, and is from a time when sand was spread from the back of pick-up trucks with a shovel during the winter—certainly not at a time when those annual budgets are the size of state lottery winnings.

(Ben Johnson is the Town of Tusten Supervisor.)