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By Barbara Taormina
The City Council approved a request from City Auditor Richad Viscay requesting a $190,000 appropriation from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund retained earnings account for the purchase of a street sweeper. Viscay said the enterprise fund had a $280,000 surplus and city officials felt the best use for the money was to reinvest it into the solid waste system. Viscay added that the sweeper, the Raptor NiteHawk Street Sweeper, the city plans to buy has a swing arm that allows it to clear out catch basins and is more maneuverable, which will help sweep some of the city’s smaller streets.
Ward 1 Councillor James Mercurio asked if the city should be tucking away money, such as the enterprise fund surplus, given the recent warnings about budget shortfalls over the next couple of years. But Viscay said the surplus had been certified and it is one-time funding.
Mercurio then asked what the cost of operating and maintaining the sweeper would be. Viscay said he didn’t know. But Mercurio, in a smooth, never-ask-a-question-you-don’t-know-the-answer-to voice, told Viscay the new sweeper would cost the city $366,000 over five years.
“This is a high-maintenance machine,” said Mercurio, adding that the purchase did not seem fiscally sound. Mercurio said he would like to hear from Public Works Superintendent Chris Ciaramella before approving the money for the sweeper.
Viscay said the city has a contract with Arrow Sweeping to clean city streets. He thought the city was in the fifth year of a five-year contract.
Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri asked if the plan was to purchase more equipment and do the street sweeping in-house, with the Public Works Department. Viscay said there’s not a plan for that, but he knows Public Works Superintendent Ciaramella is interested in bringing more services into his department.
Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio, a former DPW superintendent, agreed with Mercurio that the sweeper is a high-maintenance piece of equipment that is difficult to maintain. However, Argenzio said the city’s current sweeper is five years old and nearing the end of its life expectancy. Argenzio said the city needs the sweeper.
