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.
Committee members weighed purchasing a new truck against the option of paying for mileage if building inspectors were to use their own vehicles. Flindt estimated that inspectors travel an average of 15,000 miles per year. At the current mileage reimbursement rate, he said the county would have paid for a new truck in just two years.
“There’s no question that we should replace the vehicle,” Town of Greene Supervisor Jack T. Cook said. “It’s part of our responsibility to keep codes going.”
Town of Norwich Supervisor David C. Law requested that Flindt purchase the vehicle from a local dealer if the price tag meets the state bid allotment.
“This is an emergency situation, expedite it as much as you can,” Committee Chairman Alton B. Doyle, R-Guilford, said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but luckily no one was hurt.”