Tusten sets DPW election

Public hearing on outdoor furnace law

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG, NY - There is a movement in the Town of Tusten to make the superintendent of highways an appointed position rather than an elected one, and to merge the highway department with the water and sewer department into a single department of public works (DPW).

The town council agreed unanimously on January 12 to put the matter before voters in a special election to be held on May 19. The one polling station, which will be set up in the downstairs Town hall, will be open from 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m.

“We will put notices in our two papers?The River Reporter and The Sullivan County Democrat?every month until the vote so people will know what’s happening,” said town supervisor Ben Johnson.

The only Sullivan County town that has a DPW and an appointed highway superintendent is Fallsburg, Johnson said. A few years ago, the Town of Cochecton voters rejected a measure that would have followed the Fallsburg model.

“The Cochecton vote was very narrow,” Johnson said.

Why this move now?

“The highway budget is by far the largest item in the town budget,” Johnson said. “We want more accountability and responsibility than we have now. We are also looking for someone who has the qualifications to fill the job and not have the job filled by just anyone.”

In place of the current highway superintendent and water and sewer superintendent, the new structure calls for a commissioner and a deputy commissioner who will be responsible for scheduling and maintaining the equipment in the DPW.

“We need to utilize all of our resources,” Johnson said. “And we will be saving a lot of money, which will be a benefit in our current economic climate.”

Johnson said that over the last few months, some of the people’s reactions were positive and some were negative. “I am finding more positive reactions than negative ones,” he said.

In other business, the board set a date for public hearing on a law governing the use of outdoor furnaces. That hearing will be held on the same night as the scheduled town meeting on February 9 at 7:00 p.m.

Residents can further investigate both issues by going to the town’s website at www.tusten-narrowsburg.org.