Smithtown may make residents repair sidewalks

Sidewalks in Smithtown might become the responsibility of residents, said town officials, who are considering changing the code to relieve the town of the burden of repairs that have cost Smithtown taxpayers an average of $1.8 million a year.

"It's time we develop a method for repairing sidewalks," said Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio, who estimated about $9 million has been spent over the past five years for sidewalk repairs. "And we're not close to seeing an end."

Only about 40 percent of residential homes in Smithtown have sidewalks abutting them, and all four town board members, as well as the town supervisor, say they question whether it is fair for the other 60 percent of homeowners to pay taxes for that when they are not reaping any benefit.

At a time when municipalities are looking to save every penny to maintain budgets rife with higher pension and health costs - and less revenue - the savings from shedding sidewalk responsibility would be considerable, Smithtown officials said.

Residents on Roseann Court, an area where sidewalks are in varying states of disrepair, don't like the potential change. Naji Mamahi, 77, said he would rather his walk be torn up and seeded with grass. "I don't need it," he said. "I might as well have no sidewalk."

Irene Handy, 75, said, "I think it should remain the town's responsibility. Our taxation is high enough." However, she said she would like to keep sidewalks in the neighborhood. "I love it for the little kids riding their trikes."

In neighborhoods where there are no sidewalks, the reaction was mixed. "You can lump it into all the other things I pay taxes and get nothing for," said Michael Larsen, 56, who lives in St. James and doesn't have sidewalks.

The change makes sense to Alex Velez, 49, of Smithtown, who doesn't have sidewalks; that's how it is done in the city, he said. But he said he would rather pay his fair share than overburden residents who might not be able to fix their own sidewalk, he said.

The town board would most likely discuss the plan in a work session, but to change the town code, a public hearing must be held. Town officials said the town would most likely give a window of time to put in claims for existing broken sidewalks that the town would fix. But after those repairs, the sidewalk would be the resident's responsibility.

"We have to fix our current existing [sidewalk] problems before we turn over sidewalks to [property owners]," said Councilman Thomas McCarthy.

Of the 13 towns on Long Island, five of them make it the responsibility of property owners to fix broken sidewalks: Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Babylon, Huntington and Islip. In some cases, the town will notify the homeowner, and if not fixed in a timely manner, will fix the walk and add the cost to the resident's tax bill. North Hempstead has a separate special taxing district to maintain sidewalks, said a town official.

In April 2006, Huntington amended its town code to transfer responsibility for sidewalks to property owners, but has since been fixing sidewalks that were broken before the code change. Huntington spent $1.2 million for sidewalks in 2005, but between $332,000 and $19,000 a year since the code change.

The backlog of requests for repairs in Smithtown is up to about 1,700 residents. Smithtown Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen recently mailed postcards, at his own expense and out of frustration, he said, to those residents awaiting sidewalk repair to tell them that this year's budgeted amount has already been spent. He asked for $2 million for sidewalks in next year's budget, but the amount in the proposed 2011 budget includes $1 million for sidewalks and $1 million for curbs. He estimates an average sidewalk repair costs about $2,000, but it can vary depending on the length.

"I love the idea" of a code change, he said.

Who's Responsible?

HEMPSTEAD Sidewalks are the responsibility of property owners. Almost all residential areas have sidewalks.

NORTH HEMPSTEAD Town pays for repairs out of a separate sidewalk repair district. About 80 percent of homes have sidewalks.

OYSTER BAY Property owners are responsible for sidewalk repairs. An estimated 85 to 90 percent of homes have sidewalks.

BABYLON Property owners must pay for sidewalk repair. About 20 percent of homes have sidewalks.

BROOKHAVEN Town pays for sidewalk repair. About 75 percent of homes do not have sidewalks.

EAST HAMPTON Town pays for sidewalk repair.

HUNTINGTON In 2006, the town amended its code to make property owners responsible for maintenance of residential sidewalks abutting their property. All requests that predated April 25, 2006, were "grandfathered" in.

ISLIP Property owners are responsible for repairs.

RIVERHEAD The town maintains the sidewalks. An estimated 10 percent of residential homes have sidewalks. Those along Route 25 are maintained by the state.

SHELTER ISLAND Does not have sidewalks in residential areas.

SMITHTOWN Looking to change code to make it the responsibility of homeowners abutting the sidewalks. About 40 percent of homes have sidewalks.

SOUTHOLD Town maintains sidewalks. About 25 percent of homes have sidewalks.

SOUTHAMPTON Town repairs sidewalks. Town officials said they could not say what percentage of homes have sidewalks abutting them.