A town truck in Bethel; Should a foreman get to drive it home?

Posted 8/21/12

WHITE LAKE, NY — At the Bethel town meeting on October 8, there was quite a bit of discussion about whether a highway foreman should be taking a town-owned truck to his home at night. Councilmember …

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A town truck in Bethel; Should a foreman get to drive it home?

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WHITE LAKE, NY — At the Bethel town meeting on October 8, there was quite a bit of discussion about whether a highway foreman should be taking a town-owned truck to his home at night. Councilmember Lillian Hendrickson, whose husband used to work for the highway department, said she had received questions about the matter from town residents.

William Crumley, the highway superintendent, said that the foreman lives 1.5 miles from the highway barn. He said if there is an emergency at night, the truck is at the foreman’s house and he doesn’t have to drive to the highway barn.

Crumley said this had been a long-time practice in the past, and had been ended at one point when the truck was equipped with an additional fuel tank to move fuel from one place to another, to avoid the appearance that a previous foreman might be improperly taking the town’s fuel. But he said that now that the new truck is not equipped with an additional tank, he had authorized the foremen to begin the practice again.

Councilmember Bernie Cohen said that when he was the highway superintendent, his foreman used his own vehicle and never used a town-owned truck.

Hendrickson said she didn’t think the taxpayers should pay for the foreman’s gas for his trips to and from work.

Crumley at one point said Hendrickson and her husband were conducting a “witch hunt” against him.

Supervisor Dan Sturm said he never remembered a foreman taking the truck home except for an emergency, for instance when a snowstorm was coming. Sturm said he would look into the matter further.

In other business, Trans Hudson Management Corporation, which plans to open a Dunkin’ Donuts shop on Route 17B, has filed applications to have the former Bank of America building hooked up to the Kauneonga Lake Sewer District, as an outside user.

Sturm said if that happens, Trans Hudson would pay all costs associated with tapping into the sewer, which would include a pump station, and then the company would be charged normal sewage rates.

Also, the town’s fiscal stress score was discussed. In 2012, the state comptroller started rating municipalities on their level of fiscal stress.

Sturm said in 2012 the town’s score was 0%, which he said was exceptional; in 2013 the score was 3.3%. Sturm said the higher the score the greater the possibility of fiscal stress. He also said the average score for all towns in the state is 11%; for towns in the mid-Hudson region the average is 10%; therefore, said Sturm, the town’s score is good.

Sturm also announced that the town had reached an agreement with the union that represents the highway department. The salary increases over three years are equal to 1.6% per year, which was the same as in the previous three-year deal.

The supervisor also said the town’s budget was going to come in under the Albany-mandated 2% property tax cap, which means in 2015, town residents will be eligible for a small rebate on their taxes.

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