CARMEL – Putnam County legislators voiced their opposition Monday evening to the state’s zero-emission bus mandate that requires school districts to begin purchasing zero-emission buses by 2027 while fully transitioning away from traditional buses by 2035.
Legislator William Gouldman brought the matter to the forefront at a meeting of the Audit and Administration Committee reminding his colleagues that Putnam does not have the “requisite infrastructure as far as charging stations to support the mandate.”
Concern was also aired about Putnam’s cold winters that are not conducive to the longevity of batteries used by electric vehicles which will be parked in municipal lots exposed to the elements.
Children’s safety was also on the minds of the lawmakers since Gouldman said, “if batteries failed on a bus during school transportation hours, children would be left stranded.”
The legislators charged that the state approved the mandate without supplying the necessary funding to create infrastructure necessary to safely implement the protocol including countywide charging stations, heated bus garages with charging stations and battery surplus storage in the event of battery failure.
During discussion, Legislator Jake D’Angelo called the state’s decision “another unfunded mandate.”
Legislator Laura Russo concurred. “We are all currently struggling with electric bills. Besides, schools do not have the proper infrastructure needed for this. Zero emission may be for the future but surely not now.”
However, Legislator Nancy Montgomery, the lone Democrat on the nine-member governing body, charged the initiative was not new.: “We have been looking at this since the early 1970’s and it’s the Republican legislators who have been denying it resulting in the lack of infrastructure needed for this mandate.”
Montgomery called it “irresponsible to close the door without completely studying the issue.”
Representatives of the Brewster, Mahopac and Putnam Valley School Districts also testified by opposing the mandate.
Sam Oliverio, former Putnam Valley supervisor and county legislator who now serves on the Putnam Valley Board of Education, described the mandate as being “stupid. It won’t cure anything and is dumb while making no sense. A cold wave of three to four days will drain 40 percent of the energy out of the batteries powering the vehicles. God forbid a bus stalls with our children onboard.”
The committee approved a resolution which was forwarded to the full legislature for its vote next month opposing the state mandate while making recommendations for necessary modifications to address the concerns.
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