Southold Town Board: Supervisor Will Cruise Town in a New Ford Escape
Members of the Southold Town Board agree with Scott Russell that a new Ford Escape will be the best purchase for the town.
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After lots of talk at Southold Town Hall and on North Fork Patch, members of the Southold Town Board have decided that a 2012 Ford Escape compact SUV will suit the supervisor the best as a new vehicle.
The board came to a consensus at work session Tuesday after Supervisor Scott Russell said he thought the Escape, which will replace an aging Ford Crown Victoria, would be the most efficient vehicle for the money. He added that the vehicle would help standardize the Town's fleet moving forward, since the Human Resource Center in Mattituck is currently using three Ford Escapes.
Board members also agreed that it would be best to purchase the car from a dealer in Rochester that holds the state contract instead of purchasing locally.
"I don't have anything against local dealers, but if it costs $6,000 more there then that's $6,000 more of the people's money," said Councilman William Ruland.
Ruland added that the Town should be continually monitoring hybrid performance as that technology develops. Scott Russell said that he pays taxes on whatever Town vehicle he drives as income and that the tax will be higher on a new vehicle.
forward thinking
4:45 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
EXCELLENT CHOICE - I AGREE WITH BUY AT LOWEST PRICE ON LARGE ITEMS IF LOCALS CANT MEET - A HONEST POL. WHO PAYS HIS TAXES (BUT I "SURMISED" AS MUCH).... HE DESERVES IT
Tom
4:54 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
http://www.itsnotbadatall.com/i/funpic/Caps_Lock.jpg
Vin Ricciardi
7:50 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Don't like the idea that the purchase wasn't local. BUT; that's the problem here. Everything in this town cost's more, and to damn much.
stella blue
7:23 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
i think it's wrong he should get a brand new car. he should drive an old painted police cruiser or better yet,,, how about his own car. maybe donate the money to cast or maureens haven. jeez
indy
8:45 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
An agreeable choice. Yet it should be painted "garbage bag yellow" as a sign of the stigma we Southoldians bear.
John Carway
2:45 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Why is it a stigma for Southolders to "pay as you go" for garbage we take to the dump? Sure, it would be more convenient not to have to use the yellow bags but it certainly is more just. I have several elderly neighbors who live alone in houses comparable to mine. We probably pay about the same in town real estate taxes. But, while I might generate three or four bags of garbage a week, these ladies contribute and pay for only one small bag per week. Why is that a stigma?
On the issue of the Supervisor's car. He should have one. This is a big town. If he is doing his job he logs in a lot of miles inspecting problem areas and attending to the needs of the residents and tax payers. A long time ago the voters of this town decided that the Supervisor's job is a full time one. It is not just ceremonial and we expect that the Supervisor ought to know what is going on in our town. In this country and this town we pay our public officials just as I hope that "stella blue" gets paid for his or her job.. We don't expect the people in the Highway department to use there own trucks nor do we expect any other employee to provide their own tools of the trade. A car is an important tool for the Supervisor. I know about state contracts, but I just wish that there was a way for Lucas Ford to be given the opportunity to at least meet the state contract price. Same goes for Mullen Motors. A Jeep would also have been a good vehicle for the Supervisor. But I wouldn't want to second guess him.
Benja Schwartz
7:47 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
How many Jeep Grand Cherokees are already in "the Town's fleet"?
Does Southold Town Supervisor need an SUV?
How many people are riding in the Human Resource Center SUVs?
Wouldn't a car be more practical for our Supervisor?
Ford tech
5:52 pm on Thursday, February 2, 2012
While i think that providing a car to the supervisior is fine because he is applying it to his sallary and paying taxes on it. I don't work for the town, I work in a job where like almost any other trade, I am required to buy my own tools to do my job at a SUBSTANTIAL cost.
Benja Schwartz
7:19 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
By replacing an old car with a new SUV the Supervisor got a raise.
None of the other Town Board members got a raise.
forward thinking
8:33 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
Volunteering to pay more taxes – wow – everybody is over paid and under taxed.