BROOME - On Wednesday evening, the Broome Town Board heard remarks from Highway Superintendent Jason Wayman about his desire to replace a twenty five year old truck in his fleet.
The matter was first brought up last month, where members discussed the viability between repairing the truck’s engine and clutch or outright buying a new model.
At that point, the request was tabled by a motion from members Carter Warner and Dale Vance, as they wanted to see more information about other kinds of models rather than just Western Star.
On Wednesday, that information was given to the Board by Superintendent Wayman, who noted that the prices are all upwards of $300,000.
“Some of these numbers for equipment are just insane,” he said, revealing that the cheapest option would be an International with Viking equipment for around $335,000.
On top of that, once the order is placed, it would take two years until the Town received the truck due to a manufacturing backlog, a problem that every municipality has been contending with.
When asked by Supervisor Bill Smith if Superintendent Wayman had gotten any quotes to fix the failing truck, he said that he reached out to multiple different companies but none of them have called him back.
Beginning the discussion, Supervisor Smith was torn by the options, saying “I remember when I was Highway Superintendent, the Town Board would not fund anything unless I fought for it and wrote up comparison sheets. But I’ve seen the truck, and it’s not good, but it’s not that bad.”
Member Vinny Piraneo was steadfast in his opinion to purchase a new truck, saying “We’re going to have to replace it eventually. If we wait, do we know how much more expensive that’s going to be?”
Superintendent Wayman backed his sentiment, explaining “If it takes two years to get this truck, then in another three years, we’ll have another twenty five year old truck that’s going to be on the way out.”
However, Mr. Warner was not swayed by the argument, who stated “I’d rather wait to see what it costs to fix the engine and the clutch, the parts that we know the truck needs.”
Without a motion on the floor to either purchase or deny the request, the Board decided to table the truck discussions for another month until Superintendent Wayman can recover further quotes.
