Yorktown Group Claims Town Puts 'Roadblocks' in Way of DPW Referendum

Yorktown residents who have  are saying the town is putting up "roadblocks" in a way for the Department of Public Works (DPW) referendum they've asked for.

Members of the group  to adopt a local law that would eliminate the position of elected highway superintendent and transfer that function to a newly created DPW.

In a statement to the media, group members said those roadblocks include delaying an informational meeting with department heads for five weeks. That meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. 

"It's clear that the members of the town board have made up their minds that they don't want a DPW," said Renee Fogarty, a Yorktown resident for 25 years and spokesperson for the group. "They're doing all they can to prevent the taxpayers of Yorktown from having a say in the issue."

But according to Yorktown supervisor Michael Grace the issue is not as simple.

Placing a referendum on the November ballot does not mean town board members would simply be "polling" residents about whether or not a DPW position should be created, Grace said. Rather, if town board members do enact a local law to change the 200-year-old tradition of the town's structure, whatever decision is made in November based on the referendum, the town would be "struck" with it.

"If we pass [the local law] and it passes at the referendum, there is no coming back," Grace said. 

Fogarty said, she thinks the time to debate the pros and cons of a DPW is after the referendum has been set. 

"The only issue that should be before the town board now is whether or not to give the people of Yorktown a chance to vote on a DPW referendum," she said. "If the town board won't vote to allow the referendum to take place, there’s nothing to debate."

Grace said members of the  are not willing to get an answer or opinion that differs from theirs and that he said is not constructive to an honest and open debate. 

According to the group, the town is "refusing" to set a date for an August public hearing, and in order for the group to meet with department heads, Yorktown Citizens for a DPW had to first submit their questions to Grace for his review. They've also said the town would not provide them with the details of "staff critique of the group’s cost savings analysis so that the group can respond to the critique."

Grace said that is simply not true. 

"No one is criticizing anything at this point," Grace said and added the group should be ready for the debate and answer questions. "The idea we're throwing stones at them is a hyperbole."

Jane Daniels, an advocate for the change, said the deadline to get the referendum question on the ballot is Sept. 1. If the referendum is approved, the DPW position would become operational as of January 2014.

Members of the Yorktown Citizens Group for a DPW are to be $251,000, something current highway superintendent Eric Dibartolo has called "false."

The citizens have 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.

Councilman Nick Bianco , saying: "This is all that's about – they don't want him. Let's cut to the chase."

DiBartolo said he would not be running for re-election next year. His four-year term expires on Dec. 31, 2013, and members of the Yorktown Citizens Group for a DPW are aiming for the referendum to be placed on the Nov. 6 ballot, so there is no election for a highway superintendent in 2013. 

Members of the group said they think the town is dismissing their suggestions and findings. Fogarty said Yorktown Citizens for a DPW will continue its efforts to get a DPW referendum on the November ballot.

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