Trash Collections

Southampton Town Highway Superintendent Charlie McArdle isn’t wrong when he says that his department shouldn’t bear the cost of emptying the sidewalk trash cans along the main street business districts in Hampton Bays, Bridgehampton, East Quogue and Water Mill.

Quietly and abruptly removing those garbage cans on Tumbleweed Tuesday, however, resulting in piles of trash accumulating on the concrete pads where they used to stand, in an effort to draw attention to his complaint, lacked finesse on the highway superintendent’s part.

For decades — longer than many can remember — the Highway Department has maintained the sidewalks along Montauk Highway in those hamlets, including removing snow and picking up the trash. But, McArdle argues, since Montauk Highway is part of State Route 27 as it passes through Bridgehampton and Water Mill, and is Suffolk County Road 80 as it passes through Hampton Bays and East Quogue, those two municipalities, the county and the state, should be responsible for paying for their maintenance.

In a Letter to the Editor published this week, McArdle argues that he is, in fact, prohibited from using town tax money to perform work on county or state roads, “unless there is a specific legal contract and approval from the Town Board.” He notes that the department has service contracts with Sagaponack Village and the Long Island Rail Road to maintain their properties.

If that’s the case, it doesn’t seem all that far out to wonder why there have never been similar service agreements with the county or state.

The cost of collecting the garbage in the four hamlets is a small percentage of the Highway Department’s annual budget — $110,000 of a $12.58 million budget. One could argue that it could be easily absorbed by the Highway Department, and that town taxpayers should be happy to bear the cost, as beautiful, well-maintained business districts keep the East End attractive to visitors and contribute to the overall economic health of the town.

But a strict interpretation of state guidance says that the responsibility for maintaining those roads falls elsewhere — and McArdle would argue that the $110,000 could be better spent building and maintaining town roads. And the Town Board seems to agree, or did last spring, anyway, passing a resolution in June — at McArdle’s request — directing his department to halt the maintenance of the sidewalks unless an agreement could be reached with the state and county to pick up the cost.

It’s not very likely they would. There are state and county roads from Queens to Montauk that are maintained by local municipalities. It would stretch the imagination to think they would set a precedent here to cover the cost of maintaining the sidewalks.

Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni said as much last week during a meeting of concerned residents and business owners in Bridgehampton. But although he noted that local communities all maintain their own sidewalks, he also noted that “the manner in which they do is really their call.”

It’s likely that the responsibility for snow removal and litter collection will continue to be borne by the town. Although McArdle is right in principle, lawmakers should pursue the county and state for some type of agreement to share the expense, however unlikely.

Town leaders did the right thing last week compelling McArdle to return the trash cans to their spots in the four downtowns. That doesn’t mean the funding problem is solved. There are other options that could be explored, like the town reimbursing McArdle’s crew from a different funding source. Perhaps Main Street business owners should pick up the costs through existing or new parks or garbage districts.

The Town Board needs to take the lead on the issue, and find a compromise that will keep the streets clean and, at the same time, recognize McArdle’s concerns.

At the same time, McArdle, although correct in trying to address the problem, needs to understand that communication and compromise — and not stunts like quietly removing the trash cans without an alternative in place — isn’t good government either. You can be right about a problem, but grandstanding seldom solves it.