Cochecton debates highway superintendent term change

Linda Drollinger
Posted 8/21/12

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — How long does it take to master the highway superintendent’s job, put a personal stamp on the position and demonstrate competency to voters? Those were the questions at …

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Cochecton debates highway superintendent term change

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LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — How long does it take to master the highway superintendent’s job, put a personal stamp on the position and demonstrate competency to voters? Those were the questions at issue during the July 9 public hearing before the Cochecton Town Board as it considers changing the Cochecton highway superintendent’s term of office from two years to four years.

Not at issue was current highway superintendent Kevin Esselman’s job performance; the term change request came from Esselman. All of the speakers expressing an opinion at the hearing prefaced their remarks with praise for Esselman’s job performance over the past several years. But each also worried that one of Esselman’s successors might not produce at the same high level.

Local businessman Dennis Nearing, referencing language contained in a handout drafted by town attorney Karen Mannino, asked the board specifically how “a four-year term would be in the administrative and financial interest of town government.... ” In Mannino’s absence, Supervisor Gary Maas answered that he had not yet studied the document, and then turned the floor over to Esselman.

“I came into this job blind,” Esselman began, while explaining that, unlike many of his predecessors, he had not worked his way up through the ranks as a town highway department employee. “And, during a superintendent’s first year in office, he’s stuck working within the constraints of his predecessor’s budget.” Esselman went on to say that it took him a couple of years to get a handle on all aspects of the job and a couple more to make it his own. He also offered that he didn’t think a two-year term was long enough for a good highway administrator to show voters what he could do in office.

Esselman made clear, too, that continuing education and ongoing professional development are integral to the job. In his report on recent attendance at highway superintendents’ school, Esselman revealed that municipalities are being urged to adopt shared services agreements with neighboring municipalities, in part to enable shared revenues from FEMA funding. This could have a direct and immediate effect on Cochecton, as it lends its equipment and staff to neighboring towns cleaning up catastrophic summer storm damage.

Arguably one of the most crucial jobs in town government, the highway superintendent collects the highest salary of all paid town officials. In Esselman’s case, it is currently $40,678.20 per year. [www.townofcochectonny.org/files/Budget/2014%20budget/Budget_2014_A_general_highway.pdf]

Councilmember Larry Richardson pointed out that the superintendent’s role is unique among town officials. It is the only position that does not report directly to the town board. Largely autonomous, the highway superintendent is responsible for generating and administering his department’s budget; board approval is not required for expenditures that fall within the highway department’s budget, which accounts for the lion’s share of town operating expenses.

Cochecton’s town government is currently structured so that the highway superintendent bears personal liability for failure to adhere to his department’s budget. When asked what would happen should the highway superintendent fail at able administration of the highway department budget, Richardson conceded that it could take years for the town to recover from the ensuing financial consequences.

In Councilmember Sean Nearing’s absence, Maas tabled until August 13 a vote that will determine if the term change issue advances to public referendum on the November 6 general election ballot.

For complete hearing and board meeting minutes, see www.townofcochectonny.org/. For additional information about the Cochecton Highway Department, see www.townofcochectonny.org/govt/roaddept.

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