LEGISLATURE STUFF - Highway Department Humming

CATSKILL - Highway department workers will keep on trucking in multiple ways following actions taken by the Greene County Legislature.

Lawmakers, at a recent meeting, authorized a new contact between the county and Local 968 AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Council 66.

The three-year pact, related to working conditions and salaries, covers the years of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028.

Agreement came on March 11 with attorney Elayne Gold recommending full ratification in a letter to legislature chairman Patrick Linger.

“The county team entered these negotiations hoping to make significant operational changes. In fact, the county brought forth 27 proposals,” Gold wrote.

“I am proud to report that most of these were agreed to by the union including providing management with the ability to fill positions and/or assignments on the basis of several “qualification” factors,” Gold wrote.

“And where all of these factors are equal, seniority will control. This will ensure that the most qualified employee, who may be the most senior, will be doing the work assigned,” Gold wrote.

As part of the negotiations. “The county adjusted the wage scheduled in the first year of the contract to bring the employees of the highway department into a more competitive position with their counterparts in other municipalities and their Teamster’s Unit co-county workers,” Gold wrote.

“Then, in the 2027 and 2028 contract years, AFSCME was granted a 2.75% increase, similar to that received by other county workers in the same years,” Gold wrote.

“These were productive, amicable negotiations that are likely to bring the parties toward a cooperative spirit for a long while,” Gold wrote.

Lawmakers, sticking with the highway department theme, approved a resolution setting aside funds specifically for the purchase of what legislature chairman Patrick Linger called “big ticket items.”

The money, totaling $1,050,000, is part of an existing Vehicle Replacement Program structured to ensure reliability, the fleet being up to date and more cost efficient across the board.

As an example, In the past, the department traditionally bought large Oshkosh snowplows that were on the road only six months a year, a standard practice in many towns and counties.

“We don’t do that anymore,” Linger said. “There’s nothing wrong with the Oshkoshes. They’re beasts. They do one thing well. You start pushing snow with one of those V-plows, you can push a ton of weight.

“The department has some that are forty years old and still doing the job. The problem is you can’t find parts for them anymore and the older they get, the more they break. We are literally fabricating parts,” Linger said.

There is currently a shift toward somewhat smaller models that, due to improved technology, are equally up to the task, easily moving dirt and stone during warm weather months.

Future buys are expected to include the modern rigs. Meanwhile, dollars will continue to be stockpiled for littler luggers too, as well as various and sundry pieces of equipment.

Wasting no time in that regard, lawmakers, upon the recommendation of county highway superintendent Scott Templeton:

—Authorized the purchase of a new 20-Ton Tag Along Equipment Trailer for $28,312, available from Trailers LLC based in Cairo.

—Authorized the purchase of a new Half-Ton, 4-Wheel Drive Pickup through the New York State Office Of General Services.

The mini-bid process resulted in selecting the lowest responsible bid, $43,288.83, submitted by Robert Green Auto & Truck in Monticello.

In another matter, lawmakers approved a resolution expressing, “strong concern…regarding escalating energy costs in New York State including Central Hudson and New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) delivery charges.”

The resolution also urges a “reassessment of the ratepayer impacts of New York’s Climate Policy and Community Protection Act.”

Local lawmakers are requesting that the New York State Public Service Commission, “conduct a comprehensive review of Central Hudson and NYSEG  delivery charges and related rate structures to ensure transparency, accountability and fairness for ratepayers.”

Further, local lawmakers are urging that, “costs associated with statewide energy policies and mandates not be imposed primarily on utility

ratepayers, and that the State explore more equitable and transparent funding mechanisms that do not disproportionately burden working families, seniors on fixed incomes, small businesses, and rural communities.”

Copies of the resolution are getting sent to Governor Kathy Hochul, the State Senate temporary president, the State Assembly speaker and all members of the State Legislature.