NORWICH – Icy road conditions in December can be blamed for totaling one of Chenango County’s three vehicles used for code enforcement, and taxpayers will most likely have to pick up the tab for a replacement.

The building inspector escaped injury after the truck he was driving turned over in a ditch Dec. 3 on county Route 16 in Smyrna. Two other public vehicles, snowplows, were involved in accidents on the same day in Coventry and Columbus.

Chenango County Public Health Director Marcus Flindt told members of the Safety & Rules Committee last week that the code enforcement department no longer had a set aside account for equipment purchases. Codes relinquished $45,400 late last year when county supervisors voted to make the government unit a regular part of the general levy. (Codes had been a separate entity, with fees collected paying for operations and salaries.)

Chenango County’s passenger vehicle replacement insurance policy carries a $50,000 deductible. The truck has a book value of less than $4,000. Flindt had previously received authorization to purchase a new transmission for the 2000 Ford Explorer.