Berlin Kerfuffle

by Kieron Kramer
At the Berlin Town Board meeting on Thursday, February 11, there was a commotion surrounding the basic concept of how to run Town government. When the Board voted 4-1 to reject the only bid on a new tandem axle truck requested by Highway Superintendent Jim Winn, rancorous cries from those in attendance rang out. Basically, the issue is whether one fears for the Town’s financial future and therefore wants to spend little or nothing for services and infrastructure maintenance at this time or whether one feels the Town’s future will be bright and the quality of life maintained if proper and efficient investment in the Town is made now. Those who were vocal in their criticism of the vote Thursday, and there were many who said nothing, believe that the Town should spend money to maintain services. Historically, Berliners care more about the service the Highway Department provides than any other area of Town government. Four Board members believe that services can be maintained without additional expense. Does everyone agree that it takes money to run a town? Does everyone agree that government should do the spending? Perhaps not.
Town Attorney Don Tate arrived at 8:10, just in time to open and read the sealed bids for the tandem axle truck. The heated discussion began right after the bid was opened and dominated the public comment at the end of the meeting. At the beginning of the discussion Board Member Jim Saunders said, “I said at the workshop meeting that I was totally against it [purchasing a new truck]. I don’t want to put the Town in debt for many years. We can’t count on CHIPs money, and times are tough.” Later, quoting the headline in the most recent Eastwick Press that the Berlin School District may lose as much as $1.2 million in State education aid, the newly appointed Board Member Becky Giumarra, at this her first meeting, said, “School taxes will increase, and I’m concerned about spending money in these economic times.”
So, what kind of money are we talking about? Delurey Sales & Service of North Hoosick submitted the only bid for a 2011 International 5600i, 6×4 heavy duty, tandem axle truck with all the attachments, including a dump body, plow and wing and all hydraulics installed by Zwack, Inc. of Stephentown for $179,495. Delurey will give $12,500 for the 1996 Mack as a trade-in. The bid included attachments by two other companies, Arrowhead, Inc. and Loughberry Mfg., but these were more expensive than Zwack and were not considered. Jeff Delurey, who was present at the meeting to answer questions about the bid, had found a municipal loan, which carries a low interest rate for a seven year term. This would result in yearly financing of $26,000 or $27,000, he said. The 2011 budget includes $19,000 for financing the truck purchase. Winn had suggested this amount because he believed a ten year municipal loan was available. The $8,000 increase represents around 1.5% of the total 2011 budget; it could be shifted from a contingency fund for the current year and budgeted for the following years. Winn maintained that no truck purchase has raised Town taxes in the past, and he stated that until two years ago the highway equipment line was set at $45,000. Were this still the case it would easily cover the financing for the new truck. Presumably this line was decreased to $19,000 to help hold down the tax levy.
So, is a new tandem axle truck needed or not? There was some debate on this issue. Saunders said that he thought the Town had purchased too many trucks recently. Board Member Richard von Schilgen said he had researched the life expectancy of these trucks by calling “five heavy equipment operators and all said that a truck is not broken until 500,000 miles.” This claim was met by some derisive laughter. The trade-in has a little over 130,000 miles and is 15 years old. Von Schilgen added, “I am on the fence, but 130,000 miles is not a lot of miles.” Board Member Sheila Hewitt said that she thought a big truck wasn’t needed because the “Berlin roads aren’t that large” and pick-ups could do the plowing. Winn, Delurey, who is of course trying to sell the truck, and Billy Hammersmith, who owns tandem axle trucks and heavy equipment, explained that the hours of use on heavy equipment is a more accurate measure of wear than mileage is. Delurey said, “A truck engine doesn’t know if it’s running or rolling.” According to these three the Town trucks have hard hours on them. Running while waiting to be loaded at a gravel pit, while dumping road materials and while plowing are hours that may approximate 500,000 miles of wear and tear. “Maybe this is not the right opinion, but I think you are either making parts or making payments,” Hammersmith said. Winn said the Town “had probably put $10,000 in the [1996] truck last year.” When asked, former Board Member George Shuhart, who works for the State Highway Department, said that the State trucks are replaced about every ten years and they have 130,000 on them at least. Pam Gerstel said during Public Comment, “Jim [Winn] saved us $500,000 on the Southeast Hollow Bridge repair [that would have had to be financed], and he knows what he needs.” The Board might even consider, since Highway Superintendent Jim Winn is an elected official, to let the voters decide if he is wasting money.
Town Supervisor Rob Jaeger disagrees with the idea that the Town is saving money by not purchasing the truck now. Unless you believe the Town can get by from now on with only one tandem axle truck, then a truck will have to be purchased in the next few years. Delurey said, “Your 1996 is on borrowed time.” Not only will the value of the trade-in decrease every year, but the cost of these trucks goes up every year. The emission control system required by the new State emissions standards for these trucks will add $12,000 to $15,000 to the price of the truck in 2012, according to Delurey, who added that the trucks with the new emissions controls don’t work very well. Von Schilgen said he had called NYSERDA and was told that the emissions standards only apply to the NYC metropolitan area. Winn replied that you won’t have the option to buy a truck without the emissions controls in 2012. During the public comment, Don Calman said, “I don’t know the front end from the back end of a truck, but the Board has made a bad financial mistake – by saving $27,000 now you have guaranteed paying $30,000 a year in a few years – and where will that money come from?” Billy Hammersmith added that if the Board waits too long to buy a truck it will face the daunting prospect of buying two trucks. The question, for Sheila Hewitt and others who argue that any increase in expenditures will have to come from taxpayers, is what kind of impact on taxpayers will there be from waiting.
There was concern that rejecting the purchase would lead to unsafe roads and lack of access for emergency vehicles in the winter. No mention was made of the safety of the school bus routes. The health and safety issue was most forcefully stated by Tammy Osterhout of the Berlin Rescue Squad when she said, “You guys are putting a $20,000 price tag on somebody’s life; during a cardiac arrest time is crucial.” Helene Calman asked, “What happens if a truck goes down. You are asking citizens to sit by and hope it works.” To which Winn replied, “You will be safe; it won’t be the truck that plows your road; it will be the one that plows Becky’s [Giumarra].”
The Board voted 4-1 to reject the Delurey bid. Becky Giumarra made the motion which was seconded by Saunders. Hewitt voted to reject and von Schilgen said he voted to reject “with reservations” citing State “and everyone” cutting back. After the vote Winn said, “Thanks for wasting everybody’s time; it won’t be you, Richard, who hears the complaints when people aren’t plowed.” Supervisor Jaeger voted to accept the bid.
Perhaps, as von Schilgen said, “The Board has information that Winn and Jaeger and others disagree with.” Or perhaps the four Board members have adopted a political philosophy that undermines their ability to make practical decisions. It’s not the $8,000 difference between the amount budgeted and what the actual financing might cost. When Delurey said he would look around for a financing plan that would have a ten year term which would require only the $19,000 budgeted, he was reminded by Tara Fisher, Deputy Town Supervisor, who is not a Board member, that Giumarra had already indicated she was against the expenditure altogether. Saunders is too. Nevertheless, when Delurey said that he could hold the bid for another month or so, Jaeger suggested that the Town Board discuss at the workshop whether or not to revisit the truck purchase. What is astonishing about the bid rejection is that Berlin has just suffered the most snow in the shortest amount of time in recent memory, and the Highway Department, by all accounts, has done a marvelous job handling the situation. You would think it would have earned them the support of the Town Board.
Berlin At Its Best
The meeting had a slightly schizophrenic quality. The truck commotion followed an exchange that showed the communal spirit of Berlin at its best. Tammy Osterhout made a lengthy presentation on the needs of the Youth Commission because her budget had been cut and she felt the cuts would destroy the youth’s summer programs.
Osterhout said that she had just noticed that her budget had been cut when beginning to do the paperwork for County reimbursement, which is usually 10%. She had asked for $9,600 for 2011 and received $6,100. Her presentation stated that the summer recreation program, which includes arts and crafts, can be run at a minimum of $2,895. At its budget deliberations the Board had presumed that the program would cost less than in previous years because the attendance has diminished considerably. However, the salaries for the minimum number of adults needed to supervise activities is projected to be $2,295. Last year Osterhout donated $200 towards supplies, but they have all been used up so she expects to spend $600 this year. If the cost of bus transportation and pool rental remains the same as this year, then the swim program will cost at least $5,380.50 according to Osterhout’s projections. The total for both programs then is $8,275.50 at a bare minimum. Osterhout feels that $10,000 is a more realistic budget, and she asked the Board for a commitment to this amount so she could complete the County paperwork, which was due the day after this meeting. “Ten thousand dollars to invest in our kids’ future, the future citizens of the Town, is not too much to ask,” she concluded.
The bottom line is that Osterhout is asking for a commitment for $4,000 more. Generally, everyone agreed that the children of Berlin “are important.” Don Calman asked if the Youth Committee could accept private donations. Osterhout said the check must be made out to the Town with a stipulation on the memo line that it be used for the Youth Commission. Town Justice Joe Rechen said, “The Court has a vested interest in what happens to the youth program.” He asked the Board to authorize the transfer of $1,000 from the Justice Court contractual budget line to the Youth Committee budget line. The Board voted 5-0 in a roll call vote to do so. Then Lisa Hammersmith announced that the Hammersmiths would present a check to the Board for $500 at next month’s meeting, to be used for the youth programs.
This left a shortage of $2,500, and Osterhout wanted an answer. Supervisor Jaeger said, “We are going to have to divert money from other funds,” but the Board as a whole made no move to find the money at this meeting. Von Schilgen said he would like to “emphasize Don Calman’s idea of private donations.”
The Three Volunteers
The contractor installing the new lights in the office and hallway of the Town Hall, funded by a Justice Fund grant, reported that he couldn’t replace the light in the hall because there was water flowing through the light fixture. It was surmised that the leak was being caused by the ice dam on the roof eaves and the melting snow on the roof. Von Schilgen suggested that the snow be removed and calcium chloride be spread on the ice dam. Just pulling off the ice might damage the roof more, he said. Dave Theriault, of the ZBA, and Saunders both volunteered to work with von Schilgen to remove the snow from the roof.
Reports
Water District #2 Supervisor Jim Winn reported that there are no problems in the water district. Von Schilgen said he had received ½ dozen complaints about a chlorine taste in the water. No one in attendance had noticed the taste in their water. Winn said, “I have no answer, we are not doing anything differently.”
“Snow, ice, sand and salt. We’ve pushed it and pushed it and pushed it some more,” said Highway Superintendent Winn in his report. He added, “We’ve been lucky, a chain broke in a sander and a couple of wheels fell off, but we are making do – which is hard, being a man short.” It has been a long time since we’ve had this much snow that stayed so long, he said. “We had a foot on the mountain on Tuesday; Poestenkill had 1½ inches,” he added.
Robert Jaeger praised the Berlin Ambulance crew since he had the misfortune of having to use them. When the school bus drivers refused to drive on snowy roads on November 19 it was reported that one driver fell at the garage and had to be taken to the hospital. It turns out that it was Jaeger. “It was my first time in an ambulance, and I hope it’s my last,” he said.
Dog Control Officer Doug Goodermote reported that he has received complaints about lost dogs. He will set up a rabies clinic in April.
Planning Board Chair Pam Gerstel reported that the Planning Board will meet on February 24 with Planning Board Member Pat Mace in charge.
The Comprehensive Plan Committee will meet on Valentine’s day to put together a rough draft of the plan, said Tara Fisher, Chair.
Code Enforcement Officer Allan Yerton and ZBA Member Dave Theriault had nothing to report, and there was no action by the Space Committee or the Little Hoosic Watershed Association. There were no reports regarding the disaster plan or the Transfer Station.
Jaeger reported that at their workshop meeting the Board discussed air quality testing services and contractors to control the mold in the Watipi Building.
Chairman of the Beautification Committee Don Calman said he had some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Committee was aiming to have 15 new gladioli beds this summer and has already had a commitment for 14. The bad news is that someone seems to have taken umbrage to a Beautification poster in the Post Office and removed it. Calman also reported that he had been in touch with State Senator Roy McDonald’s office because the $2,500 grant awarded three years ago has still not been released. “But I got a personal call from him explaining what he couldn’t explain,” Calman said.
Assessor Allan Yerton reminded everyone that the property tax exemption applications are due on March 1. About 75% of the applications have already been sent in, Yerton said. Two people are still needed to fill vacancies on the Board of Assessment Review. Although BAR members have to be trained, they only meet one or two days a year. The compensation is $100.
The Board reappointed Vic Lewin to the Zoning Board of Appeals and Tim Giumarra to the Planning Board.
In response to the heated comments during and after the rejection of the truck bids it was suggested that the format of the meeting be changed so that the Board can receive public comments on agenda items before they vote on them. Supervisor Jaeger said this will be considered.