NORWICH – Chenango County’s contribution from reserves to support the highway department has fallen off over the past five years by $1 million – from $9.6 in 2005 to $8.6 in 2010.

Consequently, the amount of highway surplus applied to meet equipment purchases and other needs has increased over the same time period.

Department of Public Works Director Randy Gibbon provided the statistics to his standing committee Thursday. He said the department “just doesn’t have the funding we used to have,” and sometimes stone and oil or other work projects have to stop for lack of cash flow.

Reimbursements from the state are very late, he said, or don’t come at all.

“I know everybody says this isn’t so, but your towns have better equipment than the county does right now,” he told the committee’s supervisors.

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Town of McDonough Supervisor Arrington Canor. Several committee members echoed Canor.

Gibbon pointed to the county DPW’s 23 tandem trucks, many of which are early 1980s models. He said the department aims to replace two per year, but struggles to find the funding. On a positive note, he said the condition of Chenango County’s bridges was at one time rated highest in the state. “We still have great bridges,” he said.

Gibbon reported the DPW was on track last year to do almost 50 miles of resurfacing for the first time in almost six years when the August flood hit. The department was forced to change focus and repair the damages on a dozen different roads and bridges. About $300,000 or 24 miles of re-surfacing was deferred to repair flood damages, he said.