Sleepy Hollow finance director reports $94,423 in water-main repairs; trustees order further investigation

Finance director Eugene Van reported to the Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees on May 19 that the village spent $94,423.21 on 15 water-main breaks in the fiscal year ending April 30 and about $82,564 on pump replacements that affected 13 homes during the calendar year.

"For our fiscal year that just ended April 30, we spent, $94,423.21 on 15 water main break," Van said, citing the expenditures to illustrate the scale of recurring repair costs. He added that pump replacements for residents served by the village sewer system cost roughly $82,564 last year.

Van told trustees he and staff are quantifying annual spending to identify causes and potential cost drivers, including whether hydrant flushing procedures or aging distribution pipe contribute to failures. Trustees directed Van to work with Public Works and to meet with Chief Reedy on intergovernmental or operational practices that might reduce break frequency.

President Roe said the village will need to budget for future main replacements and to coordinate water and sewage planning with finance to address the mounting costs. "We need to figure out ways that we can start budgeting for the water main replacements," she said.

Trustees discussed next steps, including a deeper review of whether user practices, equipment misuse, or old piping are increasing failures. The board did not vote on any capital appropriation at the meeting; Van’s report was taken as direction to staff to investigate and return with findings for the board’s consideration during upcoming budget discussions.

Next steps: Finance and public works will continue analysis of break causes and repair costs and will report findings to the board; no funding decisions were made at this meeting.