Road Warriors: Supervisor, Highway Superintendent Remain at Odds Over Funding - by Maya Schubert/Kingston Wire

The simmering feud between Town Supervisor Melinda McKnight and
Highway Superintendent Mike Shultis boiled over into the public sphere
this week as the dispute from last week's emergency town board meeting
to approve highway department funding continued to be a bone of
contention.

Highway Superintendent Mike Shultis’ refusal to sign the 284 Agreement
amended by the town board last week has prompted a back-and-forth
concerning the usually routine agreement’s purpose and scope, and
leaves the status of what the department will be working on this
paving season in question.

Section 284 of state Highway Law requires town boards and highway
superintendents to write and sign an agreement for the expenditure of
“moneys levied and collected for the repair and improvement of
highways, including sluices, culverts and bridges.” On April 4,
Shultis said, he prepared the agreement and sent it to the town board
to sign. However, he said, the board put off signing the agreement at
the workshop meeting and the two following meetings, citing concerns
about the expenditure for paving projects as compared with other towns
and telling him it needed more discussion.

On May 3, Shultis emailed the town board stating that two days prior,
the highway department’s budget shifted seasons and he would be
legally unable to spend money unless the agreement was signed
immediately. Town Supervisor Melinda McKnight called an emergency town
board meeting for that evening and signed an amended agreement with
councilmembers Peter Humphries and Gregory Simpson.

The agreement signed that Wednesday devoted $435,000 to general repair
funds but excluded the permanent improvement funds Shultis wrote in —
paving projects for several town roads. In a press release, the town
stated, without explanation at that time, that “funding for paving
projects is to be considered at a later date.”

But Shultis says the 2023 funding for the highway department has
already been approved, and that all the 284 Agreement does is
authorize his usage of allocated funds. Shultis said the amended
agreement appears to have added $300,000 from the paving line on the
2023 budget to the $135,000 devoted to general repairs. Without a
budget resolution, he said, the board is not allowed to move funds
around.

“They just moved money arbitrarily without discussion or legal
resolution,” Shultis said.

McKnight said the town board can move funds because the budget is
under its control — it approves it and amends it when necessary during
the year. “The funds are allocated by the town board, not the highway
superintendent,” she said.

Meanwhile, the town has stated on its social media it excluded the
paving projects to devote more money towards fixing long-standing
drainage problems.

“Of greatest importance in Hurley are drainage problems, the repair of
which fall under the Highway Department's purview,” the town wrote in
a Facebook post. “Such problems have generated considerable concern
among town residents, many of whom have spoken about them at town
board meetings, while the Town Hall has not received a single concern,
complaint or request related to paving.”

Shultis sees it differently. He says that the majority of drainage
projects fall under the capital fund (Section 14H), which covers
stormwater repairs.

“Some of these drainage issues came before me as [town] supervisor
back in 2006,” he said. “That’s how long they can take. There is no
quick fix.”

Shultis cited projects on private property that require a town-hired
engineer to move forward as an example.

“Some of the areas will require the town to secure an easement to work
on private property,” McKnight said, but added, “A number of other
areas where there are drainage problems are along public roads where
town drainage has not been maintained. The town board wishes for the
highway superintendent to address the areas where there are issues
specific to drainage.”

In a response to Shultis’ Highway Department Facebook page post last
week stating that the town board “has brought a halt to all repair
work as of May 1st,” town Public Information Officer Jeremy Schiffres
made this response: “No money needed for repairs made by the Highway
Department is being withheld, and the superintendent is fully aware
that paving projects will be considered — and likely approved —
individually as they become necessary. The only thing holding up
repairs and other non-paving work at this point is the superintendent
not signing the agreement approved by the Town Board on Wednesday, May 3.”

But Shultis maintains says he can’t sign it because, in his view, it’s
illegitimate because funds from the approved 2023 budget can’t be
moved around.

“Plain and simple, the town board cannot cut the 284 [Agreement] in
half and think it’s a proper document,” he said. Shultis has endorsed
Councilman Mike Boms in his campaign against McKnight for the
Democratic nomination for town supervisor in next month's primary.
“This whole debacle proves that they don’t know what they’re doing,
and there needs to be a change.”


In Other Hurley News:

Reformed Church Yard Sale

The Fifth Annual Hurley Reformed Church Yard Sale will be held on
Saturday, June 3 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the church on Main Street.
Spots can be rented for $25 for the day. Please call Kelly at
845-532-2995 to reserve a spot. Refreshments will also be served.


Planning Board Meeting Time Change

According to an announcement from the town, beginning in June 2023,
meetings of the Hurley Planning Board, which are held on the fourth
Thursday of each month, will start at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.
Planning Board meetings are held at Hurley Town Hall, 10 Wamsley
Place, and are open to the public.


Grievance Day is May 23

The Hurley Board of Assessment Review will hear property assessment
challenges starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, (Grievance Day), at
Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place.

Property owners wishing to challenge their assessments that day must
make an appointment in advance by calling the Town Assessor’s Office
at (845) 331-7474, ext. 4, or by emailing assessor@townofhurley.org.

Property owners who grieve their 2023 assessments will need to submit
a Grievance Application (Form RP-524) to the Town Assessor's Office by
May 22. The Grievance Application can be found online at
tinyurl.com/39edz84d. (Instructions for filling out the form are at
tinyurl.com/3e66hd58.)

Completed applications should be emailed to assessor@townofhurley.org
or mailed to Town Assessor's Office, P.O. Box 569, Hurley, NY 12443.

For more information, contact the assessor’s office at the above phone
number or email address.

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