By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

The Salina Town Board is considering hiring an in-house engineer to cut costs. The board voted Jan. 23 to create the position of town engineer and the town is vetting candidates for the job.

“This is not something we’re definitely doing, but we’re considering [it],” Supervisor Mark Nicotra told the Star-Review.

Currently, the town contracts with Clough Harbor & Associates for engineering services, with Laura Cassalia acting as the main town engineer.

The town budgeted $60,000 for the town engineer in 2016; actual spending was $45,878.15. For 2017, Salina has budgeted $90,000. Nicotra said the town’s engineering needs vary from year to year, and CHA bills Salina “on an as-needed basis.” He said he did not know how much Salina could stand to save by moving to an in-house engineer.

“We probably wouldn’t know that for a year,” he said.

Other towns in Onondaga County have moved engineering services in-house to save money. In 2012, the Lysander Town Board appointed Al Yager as town engineer. In 2009, Van Buren hired Jason Hoy as town engineer.

“This is a good move for the town since there will be a significant savings, estimated at over $60,000 when compared to 2008 engineering expenditures for consulting services, which was a year with light engineering use,” Supervisor Claude Sykes said in 2009. “Savings would be even greater in years with greater engineer use.”

As for Salina, Nicotra said the town board is working on solidifying the job description and deciding whether the appointment would be a full-time or part-time position.

“There’s a million different functions, and we’d like to better hone in on this,” Nicotra said.

While a potential town engineer does not have to be a resident of Salina, Nicotra said the salary would depend on the candidate’s experience and the scope of the job.

“We’re still working through it as a board,” he said. “We’re still talking to potential candidates and we’re still doing our due diligence on our end.”