Yorktown Citizens Group Campaigns to Eliminate Elected Highway Superintendent Position [POLL]

A group of Yorktown residents, that includes two former town supervisors, are asking town board members to adopt a local law that would eliminate the position of elected highway superintendent and transfer that function to a newly created Department of Public Works (DPW). 

The law, they said, would be subject to a mandatory referendum to be placed on the November ballot. If approved by the majority of voters, the law would go into effect.

The four-year term of the current highway superintendent Eric DiBartolo expires on Dec. 31, 2013, and members of the group are aiming for the referendum now, so there is no election for a highway superintendent in 2013. If approved, the DPW position would become operational as of January 2014.

Members of the group said the campaign in not directed toward the current highway superintendent, who has been controversial over the last few years, but rather they're focusing on that department because it's the area where money could be saved. 

"We're not doing this because there's problems with the highway department," said David Humphrey, who used to be former supervisor Susan Siegel's assistant while she was in office. "We're doing this because it's a cost saving. To do consolidation the right way we'll save the town and the taxpayers a lot of money."

Neighboring municipalities that have made the change so the highway department is part of a Department of Public Works are Cortlandt, Bedford, New Castle, Greenburgh and Harrison. 

"We firmly believe that by following the example set by many of our neighboring towns, Yorktown can save taxpayers dollars," said Renee Fogarty, a Yorktown resident for 25 years. 

Fogarty, a management consultant who co-authored a 1995 government efficiency study prepared by the Westchester Management Consortium at the request of the town board at the time, said a DPW position could save the town at least $300,000 in salaries alone, plus additional savings. 

"The window of opportunity to create a DPW is now," Fogarty said. "If we don't get the referendum on the ballot in time for this November's election, we'll have to wait four more years, and that means four more years of lost savings."

There was a previous referendum to create a DPW position in 1976, but members of the Yorktown Citizens group said that was defeated because "the public had no idea how the department would be organized and how much money it would save."

That's why they now want to educate the people and let them make up their minds based on "facts, not emotions or politics."

Steve Gardner, a Yorktown resident who ran for highway superintendent during the last election and has been a critic of DiBartolo, said he thinks the highway superintendent postion should remain an elected position.

"The person will try harder knowing he has to perform and make an extra effort," said Gardner, who wants to run for the position next year and added he did not think creating a DPW position would save the town money.

Former Yorktown supervisor Aaron Bock, who is supporting the campaign, said there is an institutional problem with the way town government is set up.

"I had problems with trying to meet goals and deliver services in an effective way that I couldn't do because of the way of the set up," Bock said. "That's what we're trying to deal with here." 

Members of Yorktown Citizens said there are redundancies and not enough collaborations between departments in town where there should be. They said some of the ways the town could save money, if a DPW position was created, would be by eliminating or sharing of equipment, and having flexibility of the labor pool. 

"It's worthwhile to have a discussion," Yorktown supervisor Michael Grace said when members of the group presented their campaign to the town board earlier this week. "It's not as simple, but I would certainly love to have a discussion."

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