Politics & Government

Supe Protests "Reckless" Dipping Into Reserve Fund

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter will look to reallocate funds

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter took issue on Tuesday with a town board vote approving approximately $740,000 in highway department expenses -- a move that he says will leave the highway department's reserve fund woefully depleted.

The board voted 3-2 on Tuesday to approve the resolution - Walter and Councilman George Gabrielsen voted no -- to transfer over $740,000 out of the highway department's reserve fund.

Approximately $330,000 of the funding will be used to purchase a new front end loader and sweeper, with $40,000 allocated for oil and stone, Walter said. The remainder of the funds will be used for road repaving -- and to pay back "improperly allocated" Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), funds.

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CHIPS funds, Walter explained, are given by New York State and must be used for specific projects that last ten years; there are reporting requirements that must be adhered to. Certain projects were commenced with the CHIPS funds, such as refurbishment of town vehicles, that are not allowable uses for the funding -- therefore, those funds must be repaid.

Walter said he was leery of letting the highway department's reserve fund balance dip so low. In 2010, he said, the balance was 45 percent; with this new resolution, that number will decrease to about 19 percent.

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"That's reckless," Walter said.

The hefty expenditure comes on the heels of an expense of approximately $600,000 the town spent for a new salt barn last year.

The move makes it impossible, Walter added, to move forward on certain projects promised to residents due to a fund balance that's too low. After the meeting, Walter said he and Councilman John Dunleavy discussed the matter; the supervisor said he planned to "look toward reallocating this money. This is a reckless thing to do."

Councilmen Jim Wooten and Dunleavy and Councilwoman Jodi Giglio, meanwhile, voted to approve the resolution. 

Giglio said paving now makes fiscal sense. "The roads are in such a state of disrepair," she said. "They'll cost twice as much money later on to fix."

Walter warned the move could have repercussions. "Once this money is gone, it's gone,"  he said. "We're not going to get it back. This town's not out of the woods yet -- and that's what I'm afraid of."

 


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