Mahwah April 18, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Township opposes freeholders’ action on culverts by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Council has passed a resolution opposing the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders’ action to limit the county’s culvert bridge maintenance responsibilities to culverts on county roads regardless of the past practice of providing assistance to the municipality. The freeholders’ resolution, which was offered by Freeholder and former Mahwah Council member Robert Hermansen, states that it was necessary to clarify the county’s culvert responsibilities. The freeholders said various municipalities have incorrectly assumed the county is responsible for the cleaning, maintenance, and repair of all culverts in the county. The council pointed out that state law requires municipalities to pay the county half of all fines, penalties, and forfeitures imposed and collected under the law by the municipalities for any violations of the state’s motor vehicle traffic violations law as cited by the police department, except for littering statutes. That money is supposed to be used for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of roads and bridges. The resolution that was passed by all seven Freeholders on Jan. 18 states that the county will no longer be responsible to clean and maintain and/or repair culverts that exist under municipal roads unless they can be clearly shown to have been constructed by the county. The resolution also states that municipalities are responsible for sidewalk maintenance, and that the county’s responsibility under state law is limited to the road between the curbs, except for sidewalks that were constructed on top of culvert structures and are an integral part of the culvert structure. The county resolution does not eliminate the requirement that municipalities pay half of the fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected by their police departments to the county. The freeholders’ resolution does acknowledge the county’s responsibility to clean, maintain, and repair culverts that exist under county roads and those under municipal roads that were constructed by the county, and to assist municipalities with stream clearance activities related to municipal culverts in accordance with the county’s policy on stream clearance. The Mahwah resolution urges the Bergen County Freeholders to rescind their resolution, or to relieve Mahwah of its responsibility to pay the county half of all the fines, penalties, and forfeitures imposed and collected by the Mahwah Municipal Court for traffic violations.