Different philosophies highlight Highway Department budgeting
Town engineer John Cronin (left) and Highway Superintendent and Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. tried to make a case for long-term planning at Wednesday’s budget meeting.
Pay as you go or create a fund for major projects that builds up over a number of years so money is there when the project must be undertaken? It’s a contrast of philosophies in budgeting and at the root of the differences between the Town Board and Highway and Public Works chief Jay Card Jr. and town engineer John Cronin.Mr. Card submitted a budget asking for a 23.5 percent increase in spending, while Supervisor Jim Dougherty recommended a 1.5 percent increase for 2015.
Both men have some flexibility, but not enough to close that gap without a change in how to budget.
Throughout his tenure, Mr. Dougherty said pay as you go has served the town well without taxing residents for anything they don’t immediately need. And in an emergency situation, the town has a fund balance from which it can allocate money without having the money locked up in a designated fund where it can’t be used for any other purpose.
Mr. Card and Mr. Cronin, conversely, see a need for a three-year investment of that would create a $1.27 million fund for major projects that would put the town’s buildings in excellent condition that could then be maintained regularly at far less money. The assets, Mr. Cronin said, are generally in “good” condition, but like infrastructure throughout the country, deterioration is inevitable if they’re not regularly maintained.
The problem, Mr. Card said, is that there hasn’t been any long-range planning within his department because since he assumed his job three years ago, the economy was too poor to consider it. But such planning can’t be put off forever and this would be the time to begin tackling such projects, he said.
And the $1.27 million cost doesn’t include marine projects that also need to be done, although its possible some of those may be able to be funded by money the Waterways Management Advisory Committee has instead of Mr. Card having to allocate money from his public works and highway budget.
Among the projects they identified are:
• A new roof on the Medical Center building;
• Repointing of bricks at the Police Station; and
• Work at Justice Hall, the assessor’s office, the engineer’s office, the Legion Hall and Town Hall.
“What fires are we trying to put out?” Mr. Dougherty asked.
“We’re proposing a shift from putting out fires” to organized and ongoing maintenance, Mr. Cronin said. He drew a colorful analogy for the Town Board: If you go to a doctor and your PSA level is 3.8 so you don’t have prostate cancer, should you do nothing or wait until it “creeps over 4” to take action? he asked.
Being prepared to pay as needs arise is “the best strategy,” Mr. Cronin said.
Councilman Peter Reich asked the men to put together a priority list of “stuff that’s beginning to smoulder.”
Among them is the need for new bathhouse at Crescent Beach, Mr. Card said. The Suffolk County Department of Health Services has concerns with the existing bathhouse that fails to meet requirements for such coastal buildings and lacks potable water, Mr. Card said.
But Mr. Dougherty compared that to the fact that the town’s auditor had said it has a $8.6 million obligation for retirement costs that has been growing by $1.5 million a year. The town hasn’t been funding it, but he expressed confidence that it could pay such retirement costs when the time comes.
At the same time, he said he knows there are forces in Albany pushing for municipalities to start funding the retirement system despite the fact that “no one is and we all seem to be doing just fine.”
Mr. Card suggested the town might want to consider a bond in place of creating a fund for such projects and that was something Councilman Ed Brown said he might be willing to consider since the town’s indebtedness had dropped.
Mr. Dougherty said that while he hates to borrow, it’s something he might be willing to consider.
But that’s a discussion for another day — one of several subjects to be addressed after the Town Board hears from the other department chiefs in the course of the next few days.
Compensation for Mr. Card and Debbie Speeches, his administrative assistant, are also on the table.
“She does a great job for me and it’s my job to stand up for her,” Mr. Card said about Ms. Speeches. He noted she’s not a union member and has no job security since she could be dropped if he opted not to continue as highway superintendent and public works commissioner. He’s asking for 5 percent, not the typical 1.5 percent currently being penciled in for most other non-union employees.
As for his own compensation, Mr. Card said he’s earning $76,500 as compared with salaries that range from $83,285 to $100,857 those in his position in other East End towns receive. While not ready to budge yet, Mr. Dougherty said
He’s open to considering an increase from the $77,647 he has budgeted. But how much he and his colleagues might move is to be discussed later. Mr. Card is asking for $98,330 for the combined job of highway superintendent and public works commissioner.
