By Edmond Theobald
Manlius Town Supervisor
In 2018, the Town of Manlius performed work on 110 center line miles of road throughout the town. In 2019, we don’t expect that number to decrease.
While New York is one of the fortunate states that experiences all four seasons to the fullest, springtime around these parts seems more like pothole season. These potholes draw the ire and frustration of citizens and local officials, often becoming the focal point of conversation at kitchen tables and town halls across the state.
While towns across the region and the state battle to keep up with new demands every year, the primary state funding source for local road and bridge needs (the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program) has remained flat since 2013. Accounting for inflation, flat funding amounts to a cut.
In Manlius, we have worked hard to keep municipal spending and property taxes down. Our budget represents a careful, prudent balance between new infrastructure projects that will improve our economic situation while still providing the basic essential services New Yorkers need day in and day out, but we’re stretched thin.
Over the past several years our CHIPS money enables us to repave approximately ½ to ⅔ mile of road each summer. When the state refuses to account for inflation in funding CHIPS, the result is less funding each year to spend on these projects that are so integral to our quality of life and economic vitality.
Towns are responsible for maintaining more than 60,000 miles of local roads and 8,600 bridges according to the Association of Towns of the State of New York. That responsibility comes with a price tag of more than $1 billion annually, making it our No. 1 budget expenditure. State assistance covers just nine percent of this expense.
Every year that our roads and bridges are neglected seems like a cautionary tale to which we already know the ending. The more repairs we put off in the present, the more they will cost us in the future. In fact, Cornell Local Roads has estimated that every dollar of maintenance put off could cost between $4 and $5 in future repairs.
Without proper state funding for road maintenance now, we’re costing our drivers double in the long run. TRIP, a national transportation advocacy group, estimated in 2013 that deteriorating roads cost New York State drivers roughly $1,600 annually in lost time, fuel costs, vehicle repairs and other expenses.
As the state legislative session begins anew, town officials know that we have a majority of legislators on our side, with more than 100 of them showing support at the annual road funding rally in Albany. Yet year after year, the CHIPS budget is passed with nary an increase. State officials can’t put this off any longer.
When this coming spring brings new life to New York, let’s ensure we’re giving our infrastructure new life as well.
Edmond Theobald is the supervisor of the town of Manlius in Onondaga County and serves as vice president on the Association of Towns Executive Committee.
