Appointed Highway Superintendent to be on Ballot in Stamford

HOBART –  Voters in the town of Stamford will be asked to decide whether the town should move to an appointed highway superintendent, at the same time they will be voting for one. It's a confusing issue, but after some research and more discussion during last Wednesday's monthly meeting, town board members approved moving forward to put it on the fall ballot for voters.

Supervisor John Kosier said he had contacted the Delaware County Board of Elections about the process to bring the decision to the voters. "We need to come up with a town resolution, have a lawyer draft it and submit it to the Board of Elections for their approval and then submit it for the November ballot. It will be up to the voters to decide if we keep an elected highway superintendent or we have an appointed highway superintendent."  He said they could also decide to move to someone serving who is not a town resident of the town.

Currently, the position is an elected position and the person who runs for office must be a resident of the town of Stamford and be 18 years of age. There are no other qualifications.

There has been a lot of discussion about the position over the past several years. It is an issue now, due to the passing of Jon Ballard, who was the town highway superintendent. Ballard was ill and not always present at the highway garage. In his stead, Kevin Rinehart, served as his deputy and is serving in the interim.

Town board members wanted to change to an appointed position last year, but did not act in time to get the necessary paperwork filed and voters elected Ballard to another four-year term. Now there is a two-year vacancy which could be filled by election in November. There are two or three people who are expressing interest in filing a petition to appear on the ballot to fill out the remainder of Ballard's four-year term. Others are filing petitions to serve on the town council and for town supervisor

Board members were asked why they were pushing to make it an appointed position now. It is due to the unfortunate circumstances. Ballard's widow, Deb Ballard, confirmed the town board has been talking about the appointed position ever since her husband was first elected. 

Board members have said they have little control over the highway superintendent, except for setting the budget. They could set a  job description for an appointed superintendent and decisions would come back to the town board. They could review applicant resumes to make a choice for an appointment.

Councilman Dan Deysenroth said, "We can only manage the finances for the highway department at this point. We can't tell the highway superintendent what to do." He said they would make their decisions like they do now, based on a majority rule after considering what is best for the town.

It would also include a wider pool of candidates and the person holding the appointed position could be terminated at any time if they were not doing the job. 

Brent Trimbell said he was on the town board for five years, resigning last July, and said he does not recall the conversation until last year. He has also said he intends to run for election to the highway superintendent's position in November.

Councilman Dave Post, who favors the appointment idea, has said he will not seek re-election next fall, "Most people will probably want to elect their own highway superintendent rather than have the board appoint one, but it might work better if the position is appointed. It would allow more options. The board could set a job description."

Although other towns have held referendums, to date, voters have not approved an appointee as highway superintendent in any of the county's 19 towns.

Cities and villages do have appointed positions for clerk and department of public works, and some  towns have opted to create the appointed position over the elected position. 

Kosier said he would contact the lawyer to draft a resolution.

The meeting opened with a presentation by Ben Dales, of Headwaters Engineering in South Kortright. He has designed a septic system for Scott  Quail, who is restoring a barn at a former Dreamstreet property and brought the proposal before the town board for a determination on its environmental impact. Board members issued a negative declaration with minimal impact. The barn will become a commercial venue and Quail told the board he is restoring the barn as a pet project "to keep it standing for the next generation".

Rinehart gave the highway report, saying the crews have been sweeping town roadways. However, with the additional snow, some will have to be redone. He is also looking to draw in stone for summer projects. He is also looking to make a grader patch to begin patching the areas where roads were damaged over the winter. He said this past winter caused a good deal of damage to some roads.