BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — Town of Massena officials are taking steps to put the town on a better long-term financial path after years of financial uncertainty.

Spearheaded by Deputy Town Supervisor Pat Facteau, officials hope to establish a long-term comprehensive financial plan that will create long term financial goals and contingency funds while addressing the town’s day-to-day operations.

In a recent board meeting, Facteau told officials the town has never put money aside for capital projects or established contingency funds to cover unexpected expenses. In many cases, the town was forced to bond to cover specific expenses, he said.

One area of concern the board hopes to address is the aging infrastructure the town needs to maintain, including government buildings that are now over 70 years old.

“We really haven’t put aside towards trying to be able to replace some of that,” he said.

Aging infrastructure and the depreciation of values has hampered the town for years, Facteau said.

“Buildings are all fully depreciated. We have already $2 million in accumulated depreciation. We have no money set aside to replace any of that,” Facteau said.

Facteau said he hopes to have a long term plan and projections available so they town can avoid the pitfalls of bonding to repairs and replacements, especially when it comes to town equipment.

“We’re trying to do more strategic financial, making a list of all these things that need to be replaced and come up with a list. You try to start putting some money aside at least every year in regards to depreciation expense,” he said.

Part of the process will be to speak with department heads to assess areas of need, allowing officials to gather a better idea of the scope of the plan.

First will be the highway department and it’s large fleet of vehicles and infrastructure, officials say.

Facteau said he asked Highway Superintendent Dylan Casselman to create a list of departmental needs so the town can address them in the future to allow the town to better plan for the future. Other departments are also expected to follow suit in the coming months, officials say.