How many housing authorities does it take to change a light bulb?
While this may seem like a joke, to housing authorities of five towns involved in a joint agreement for the purchase and operation of a bucket truck, reaching and changing lights on their property has been no joking matter. Since each authority has many of the same needs, the joint purchase of a vehicle that would allow them to reach light bulbs in parking lots and on the sides of buildings seemed like the perfect solution. And the truck will have a variety of other uses formerly assigned to jobs requiring a ladder, helping to reduce the risk of injury, officials said.
The joint agreement was made between the housing authorities of Secaucus, Hoboken, Union City, West New York and Guttenberg, each of which will share the costs of the purchase and operations.
Members from each authority met in Secaucus on April 3 to look over the truck, work out equitable arrangements for its use and develop a policy for maintenance and operations.
The truck cost $49,000. The cost for each town was paid for from its federal Housing and Urban Development Capital Fund allotment.
William Snyder, executive director of the Secaucus Housing Authority, said delivery of the vehicle had been delayed for numerous reasons, and, in fact, he had to threaten the vendor with legal action to get the vehicle delivered. Nearly as soon as the vehicle was delivered, the manufacturer recalled the truck for a faulty transmission, Snyder said.
“Now that the problem is fixed, we’re ready to use it,” he said.
Housing officials from the five towns agreed that the truck would be stored at the Department of Public Works yard in Secaucus, from where each town would retrieve it. The members also agreed to call and reserve dates for use, but also agreed that an authority could get preference to handle an emergency situation.
Drivers from each housing authority will be trained in the use of the truck and its elevated bucket. The members of the various housing authorities also agreed that use of the truck might be extended to the municipal governments as well, but housing authority personnel would operate the vehicle. Housing people will not be allowed to use truck for tree and limb cutting – which is a specialized service and requires other training and equipment.
Although Secaucus would provide insurance, Snyder asked that the other authorities check with their insurance carriers to be certain no additional coverage is required. Snyder said all costs for gas, oil, maintenance, insurance will be spit among those using the truck.
The arrangement, according to E. Troy Washington of the Hoboken Housing Authority, meets the regional cooperation agreements encouraged by former Gov. Christine Whitman as a way to share costs and save money. “It is not easy in today’s world, and sometimes you have to try a new approach to deal with a situation,” Washington said.
Snyder noted that the town of Secaucus has a similar arrangement among various public bodies within the town for the hiring of an electrician. He said a new agreement might be considered for hiring a plumber as well.