Sullivan manager recommends $6.3M infrastructure; Roads and bridges have fallen behind

Posted 8/21/12

MONTICELLO, NY — As in countless municipalities across the country, the roads and bridges in Sullivan County have depreciated more rapidly than they could be maintained and repaired, especially in …

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Sullivan manager recommends $6.3M infrastructure; Roads and bridges have fallen behind

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MONTICELLO, NY — As in countless municipalities across the country, the roads and bridges in Sullivan County have depreciated more rapidly than they could be maintained and repaired, especially in the years following the Great Recession.

To address the situation, which county manager Josh Potosek calls unsustainable, he recommends that the county take on $6.34 million in new debt in 2015 specifically to address county-owned roads and bridges.

According to Potosek’s budget message, which was presented to the legislature along with the budget on October 21, that’s necessary due to the Albany-mandated 2% property tax cap. Potosek wrote, “Complying with the New York tax cap law ensures that there is no ‘discretionary’ funding available to maintain local infrastructure at an appropriate level.”

The county owns and maintains “385 centerline miles of highway and 401 bridge structures,” which have been maintained but not as much as was needed over the past decade. Potosek wrote, “The county has invested $41 million over the last 10 years. The annual appropriation has been inconsistent from year to year, with a low of $803,000 in 2005 and a high of $7.7 million in 2010. The inconsistencies in funding make long-term planning difficult. More importantly, over the last 10 years, the percentage of roads not needing any repair work has decreased from 52% in 2004 to 20% today. What would have required a $10.5 million investment in today’s dollars to pave all the roads needing work in 2004 now stands at $63.4 million in 2014.”

During the same time, the “amount of poorly rated bridges has increased by 56%,” thus the need for taking on more debt. He also recommended setting up a debt reserve fund to pay down the infrastructure debt using $1.2 million of reserve funds.

Other budget notes

Overall, Potosek’s tentative budget calls for an increase in the tax rate of 1.7%, which amounts approximately to an increase of $19 for every $100,000 of assessed value in a given real estate property.

Potosek said the county’s financial shape has improved and the “fund balance has improved dramatically,” but overall challenges remain.

In 2013, the county collected $33.8 million in sales tax; for 2014 the county is on track to collect $35.86 million. But Potosek points out that that is still $547,000 less than the sales tax collected in 2008, when the global financial system nearly collapsed. Potosek wrote, “This highlights the fact that our recovery from the recession has been a long and slow process.”

While the budget calls for maintaining the county workforce at “relatively flat” levels, a few new hires are proposed. The tentative budget calls for two new deputy sheriff hires, the creation of a public health educator and part time breast feeding councilor in the department of family services, the creation of an administrative secretary in the human resources department, and the creation of a per diem licensed practical nurse at the Adult Care Center.

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