Snow Removal Budget Increase Announced at Esperance Town Board Meeting - Highway Superintendent Encourages Chris Tague Press Conference Attendance on 3/27

ESPERANCE- The regular Town Board meeting on 3/19 supplied residents with many updates discussed during committee reports & privilege of the floor.

Earl VanWormer III’s Supervisor Report reminded that the town is a third of the way through their fiscal year and recognized Town Board Member, Benjamin Gigandet, for a grant they’ll be receiving to help them cut Agency and Trust fund costs by replacing lights with lower intensity/more energy efficient options. 

VanWormer directed the Board’s attention to Budget vs. Actual numbers for the Highway Townwide account, “We just got a pretty good bill this month that will put us over what we budgeted.” Citing, “The past several seasons we did not spend what he had budgeted, so this year being an unusually long, cold, snowy, icy winter, we spent considerably more money. We will have enough in our reserves.”

VanWormer continued to explain that whatever they spend on snow removal in March will come due in April, then November’s snow removal expenses will come out of the December budget. “We’ve got enough money to cover the bills. I’m just making everybody dually aware because we probably, well, we definitely will increase the amount we budgeted for snow removal because if this continues on, then we won’t have enough to cover it very long. So, we’re definitely going to have to increase taxes in this lineup and I don’t want anybody to get surprised. There's no question that we have to do it ‘cause we do provide snow removal service for your Town and Village.”

Mayor Royce Gage was in attendance and VanWormer advised him to keep in mind Village residents will also see an increase in their taxes because it’s a Townwide service that the Village contributes to.

For the Highway Outside account, VanWormer mentioned that while road maintenance isn’t presently being done that can be submitted to NYS-funded CHIPS (Consolidated Highway Improvement Program) for reimbursement, budgeting for that will come up soon. During Michelle Brust’s Highway Superintendent report, VanWormer shared a hope that they’ll be able to get some roadwork on Brust’s 2026 list accomplished early enough that its reimbursement will allow them to complete even more work than what they are bound to with the current budget.

Brust mentioned Advocacy Day, where Highway Superintendents in the State gather to advocate for increasing CHIPS program funding. Currently, local transportation funding in the Governors' Budget is being kept flat for the 2026-2027 period and there has been a proposal to add $250 million for CHIPS for 2026-2027.

“Chris Tague is holding a press conference on the 27th,” said Brust, “The more people attend, the better we’ll be because a large presence there might gain some attention from the State, from the Governor.” Brust’s report read, “Chris Tague will be hosting a press conference to call for increased state funding for local roads and bridges in the upcoming budget. It will be held at the SC DPW on March 27 at 11 AM. Surrounding Counties are invited.”

Brust brought up Woodman Road & Pleasantview’s frozen culverts. Because Pleasantview’s culverts continue to freeze, Brust suggested they plan now for a fix that can be done over the summer. A wire down on Priddle Road has been taken care of, and a weeper pipe not doing its job underneath the depression on Vanderwerken Road means there’s possibly water under the road and it has to be added to the list of roadwork for this year. Budgeting isn’t complete for the roadwork list because contractors & vendors have expressed hesitation to price work until snow is off the roads and because of rising oil prices making costs hard to predict. 

Burst named Yulia Klimczak as the new NYSDOT Cobleskill Assistant Engineer, brought up flooding around the Transfer Site shed & recyclable containers that require ditching, and brought up concerns for State Street Road pavement where a business is moving heavy equipment consistently.

Town Board/Planning Board Member, Harold Conklin, and Planning Board Member, Mark Fitzgerald, updated that Centerline Communications LLC wants the Board to cover Engineer Report costs to move forward with Mountain Road Cell Tower plans. VanWormer suggested referencing records from previous cell towers; it has always been policy for the company to pay for the engineer that the Town hires.

The Assessor’s Report contained follow-up information about legislation options. Esperance & Schoharie Town Assessor, Erin Smith, would like to schedule a public hearing to get the Senior Citizens Exemption maximum percentage increase to 65% put into law before 2027. Also, “There has been a change to RPTL 458-A (11). According to S8803/A.9448, the 100% service-connected disability exemption is no longer a local option. It is now mandatory that municipalities offer this exemption starting in 2027. The effective date of the legislation is October 1, 2026, and will be applicable to the 2027 assessment roll for eligible recipients.”

Additional follow-up discussions included:

VanWormer’s waiting on three confirmations from residents who were interested in forming the Comprehensive Plan Committee.

Conklin will write a letter that will be sent from the Town to the County about tractor-trailer truck signage/safety options for Sanitarium Road.

Tax collection is coming along well.

The Dog Control Officer wasn’t at the meeting as expected, and Town Clerk/Tax Collector, Amanda Fagan, sent an email to remind him to send reports on a monthly basis, even if there’s nothing to report.

There’s still Health Department testing & research and a moratorium on biosolids & PFAS.

And, Esperance Historical Society President, Ken Jones, has provided historical pictures; one features all the supervisors. VanWormer and Conklin plan to look into options for getting them framed before hanging them in the Town Hall. 

Esperance Town Board meetings are every third Thursday of the month, 7 PM at Town Hall (104 Charleston Street.) April 16th is next month’s meeting date. Your Town Board representatives are Town Supervisor Earl VanWormer III, and Town Board Members Michael Keller, Harold Conklin, Benjamin Gigandet, Barbara Sharpe, and Deputy Supervisor Brian D. Largeteau.

Esperance Village meetings are every second Monday of the month, 7 PM in the Village Hall (115 Church Street). April 13 is their next regular meeting, and they have a Budget Hearing planned for Saturday, April 4th at 9 AM.