Budget impacts highway matters

PINE PLAINS — "This year’s budget is going to be very tight," Supervisor Gregg Pulver said at the Town Board meeting Thursday, Oct. 16.

"There is fat to be trimmed, places I threw numbers in because of requests I had received," he added.

Pulver said the town still has to look at its expenses and revenues, and account for growing costs. Those numbers will include fuel and oil, sand and other highway related expenses, all of which are rising.

He also said that there are going to be
"some major changes" in how all municipalities handle roads, and that includes how they treat them during the winter.

According to the officer in charge of the Pine Plains Police Force, Mike Lawson, the state is going to wait until there’s 1 inch of snow on the ground before it sends out its trucks to take care of the roads this year. He said neighboring Columbia County is planning to do the same.

"The highway superintendent and I spoke, and roads may not get the treatment they have in the past," Pulver said. "People will have to slow down a little bit. The state is already talking about no overtime for their employees."

"It’s going to be a very tight year," he said.

"I think everybody knows that," Councilwoman Dorean Gardner said. "I don’t think it’s going to be a surprise."