Smithtown OKs $21.4M in street repairs

Smithtown will make $21.4 million worth of road repairs and improvements this year, under a plan approved Tuesday by the town board.

The road plan includes $13.7 million in general repairs on 470.7 miles of streets. It calls for $7.7 million worth of larger-scale improvements — including $6.5 million to repave or upgrade roads.

The town board has not acted on a request from Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen to borrow $10 million — $5 million this year and the same amount in 2013 — to pave an additional 27 miles of town roads and address 6,000 complaints about crumbling curbs and sidewalks.

Board members have not made a motion to approve the request, made by Jorgensen at a Feb. 28 town board work session. Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said then that the town could not repay the loans with interest while remaining within the state’s 2 percent cap on tax levy increases.

The borrowing requested by Jorgensen would raise taxes by $2.23 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

Jorgensen has said repairs will cost more if they are delayed for several years.

Above: Main Street in Smithtown (Feb. 20, 2012)