Ch 17 Reports

Three parts in our studio and the phones in IRS offices across the country tax experts will give you on the spot answers to your questions. We'll take you step by step through the forms and the usual schedules and your W-2 forms receipts and records and the IRS for. Together on tax free. This is Channel 17 W. and Buffalo. A lot of money more than a half million dollars to patch

the holes in Buffalo. And that patch job is only temporary pothole problem here in Buffalo. And look at why there are so many potholes on our streets. I think. The problem of potholes. Not only in Buffalo I think it's a real problem throughout West because at the. Time the. Whole problem of freezing or fact that we experience and we've had some warm days as you remember we've also had some very cold. So you're. Dealt the snow out of the freezer and lighten up on that crack in the freezer. What is this problem compared to other years. It's roughly about the same I think there's more attention paid to it. Sure but as far as the number of the past are the same as we've had it and

PBS years the number of potholes may not have increased but the cost has skyrocketed this winter the city spent more than a quarter of a million dollars for coal patching the last year patching is temporary exclusively and mostly because it's fast it's compatible with the conditions that we have out in the street. It also doesn't freeze cold patch if it's put it under ideal conditions last a long time we've had called taxes and I paid them maybe 4 5 years old. They've been put in under ideal conditions and warm. Normal grounds usually the way we put it in the winter time to prevent a serious mishap that this last three four weeks after those few weeks.

There are holes in a row causing damage to cars and tires. Some experts can tell whether a pothole cause tire damage. Most of the impact breaks. From either hit the pothole or something like that. The Moster tires were in fact caused by tire wear. Is caused by it. But you have. Damaged. His way out. This is why we recommend alignments as soon as you feel that you hit a pothole seriously. A lot of people are thinking right now that. They're going to wait till the bottles get filled before they're going to do their alignments which I think they're wrong. Because they're only going to do more serious damage. To cars with front end problems. With. Oh. That lower control arms and so on and so forth. The hidden danger to motorists driving along.

With their cars out of the line already told in cars with the Will knocked out. And. Other front end problems or the tie rod would be busted right off in that. So there is danger you lose control of your steering. Is there a warranty on that. Warranty alignment for 30 days. What if there's evidence of. Physical damage and that voids to war. Do you have any advice for these motorists who may have. Jumped into potholes. Well number one they should get these things aligned So as possible because it's going to cause a lot of awful tire wear. And what the alignment. We can also check the front end parts and have for any any physical damage. But the alignment is important. Because later no. Later months the tires will be worn terribly ill be have to get no tears. What do you suggest that these drivers do. I don't know it's hard to say because with all these potholes you try to miss one. And you're liable

just to go in the other. Careful driving is about the only answer I can tell you for your business. Increase will cover what. Is demanded by your customers coming in. What do we have to show here. This is. Very expensive to replace. Here the retail price of one hundred one thousand dollars apiece. In about 35 hours. Then you have a wheel. That could run anywhere from 20

to $40. Anyone tried to capitalize on the market by selling you a couple people picked up along the road several pick them up and brought it. Back. Good. Workmanship material.

I don't know it's pretty good for business while businesses make money from potholes that money is coming out of your pocket because a majority of those customers are victims of holes in our streets after purchasing. The RAM. On the car. 201 $30. 000 While the week later I hit a pothole and cause severe damage to the RAM and the front end as well as the tire. How much loss. At the time it was around $300. And did you file a claim with the city. Yes I did. What have. They told me that a pothole hadn't been listed so they couldn't pay out on the claim that I had. So what are you going to do about it. Forgot about it that's all just money down the drain. This week bad luck this week. Yes just today early this morning around 2 o'clock.

That measured seven foot by five foot. And. The back wheel. As well as some damage to the front and the front. And reported to the city. HALL And as far as I know with the reporter No way down to put in a claim for damage. Understand. Unfortunate. Mr. Gallon you're right I don't mean Southampton. Southampton the trainmaster. And. It's a crater like that. What happened to your car. When you got it. Well you know that has been reported to the city. You could file a claim that probably will be honored. They tell us the crews are out here where.

I was. Going to create in front of my house. With a manhole cover. Your son is going to. Go on. The run. I was driving in Elmwood going north just past grade arrow and I hit a pothole which we could tell my son was with me in the care we could tell that we had a flat tire we pulled over and both tires were flat. I called city hall. The woman told me she knows she put me on hold the next person answered with street repair and I explained in the situation and where this pothole was and he. Said he knew about it and he. Told me I had to get a hold of the claims department which I did. They sent me forms. I filled them out and sent them in. Maybe a week 10 days later I get a rejection of my claim. Why did they

reject you. They said that it had not been written to be reported not been made prior to the city clerk. Apparently in writing enough of the expressway to the Fillmore Avenue and. We hit this hole the next day my wife called the city clerk's office and she said that this had all it been reported. So she told us how to make up the claim which we did. We had notarize send a registered mail receipt requested and we had to wait quite a while. Tilly sent a check to us. Was there much damage attire. Sixty six dollars. Have you had any

other problems with potholes other than yesterday and that's through a friend at the Church Street exit. We hit a pothole and blew two tires rule in two rooms and lost to have gaps. But. Nothing was ever done about it through a construction company do is doing work there and the construction company referred inspections of chili just dropped. We could have taken him into small claims but it wasn't worth shit. So the city took care of you better than the state you took good care of which. Was a. Pretty good size and I got out I thought I had a flat tire. I got out and I checked it out and it seemed all right. I got my brother in law's house and by the time I'd reached over there for one so

I checked and I had him check out the radiator and here there was a big hole in the radiator and I was leaking and freeze all over and I got on the phone to talk to her and she put me in touch with the supervisor Parkman secretary form to you as soon as possible. Waited three weeks and I gave her a call again. And she said no I didn't. So she says. She did me one I filled it out I took it up there and I had my girlfriend with me so she was a witness too and I signed it in front of them so they couldn't say that it wasn't me. So I started to worry. How long did you wait for your check. I just received it this past Monday. I'm not exactly the way it was taken care of before I did receive a check from city attorney

put on the report going to receive $100 or nothing. Are you satisfied with the hundred dollars. I. Really think I. Could have been put in the bank all this time. What happened to this young victim still isn't quite clear to him. He hesitates to blame a pothole for his accident and has no claim against the city of over 30 years. Just a. Little

bit. And you. Know. What. How do you feel about. What's happened to you. You. Claim to do it here and.

Just to be away. Claims against the city have doubled from last year in a bureaucratic system of filing takes one to various city hall offices before final approval by the Common Council the first officer to come in in person and we have available in our office in shades. Along with that we have forms that would make it easier for a claimant to file a claim the person has to fill out the form. You haven't noted in closing neither him deliver to us or by registered mail playing in the city clerk's Department. And then. Into the lot apartment apartment they. Claim. And they have all the investigations. Of the claim. And I'll report it to the claims Committee. The claims Committee make a recommendation to the full council. Then the buck. Stops with.

Around 20 people this year for Pat whole damn match and it's a very small percentage in comparison to how many claims have been filed with this office. Why are some of the claims turned down anything that doesn't have a prior written notice on it is completely denied. The city charter dictates a prior written notice he has to be there in order for us to make any payment. This is how this office runs have to be. Playing. In order for you to get any retribution from the city of Buffalo for damage to your car. There has to be a prior written notice on the hazardous condition in order to do this. A person would have to write a letter to the city clerk a buffalo explaining that there is a hazardous condition existing at such and such a location and the City Clerk to be very specific in your location of the pothole. And from there are.

A rocker that someone has reported this pothole so that if any citizen it should hit this pothole they would be covered for their their property damage. Many people feel that the city is ripping them off because they have to file a prior notice with the city clerk as to the location of a pothole or something like a prior written notice clauses comply completely necessary for the city. Considering how much money it would cost the city if we didn't have one as you might know there's quite a few properties in the city of Buffalo. We have to have some Carson. And some fall. Otherwise you could spend all the money that you can generate. Through. The Park. Are there any false claims. He had an experience with. A person filing claims for property security

checkpoint out in the Far East to come up here with a gun and he did carry out that threat and you know we found it necessary to get the police up here to the office at the time we were in the hallway and we suspected that this was a gentleman and right away the police were called and by the time the police to get here the man had escaped through the stairway. To see the workers for extra patching. And one resident as a reporting patrol. Travelling around the city. Clerks department able to claim damages. Then after.

The air. Is not as large as it could be because. Not that many people are interested in having trucks that have been donated through a Chamber of Commerce. There we have a woman additional woman out in the field right now. The special project portion of the program and the contractors they have all of the first going into a patch program. And we sort of feel what we were going to have before June 1st under way this morning about two years ago. I know a whole

lot of time that one day. We had about. Just a temporary. Really. To get more money to fix potholes. One area congressman introduced a pothole bill which would help the Buffalo area. The bill in the form that it was presented last year when we wrote it in our public works committee would have meant approximately 2.3 million dollars just for pothole repairs here in Buffalo. We were successful in getting it passed and through the House of Representatives it was sent over to the Senate to languish there for eight months. And of course died with the 90 fifth Congress in the Senate it was never passed to get green reduced and to get it passed we would have to have the support of both the Senate and the administration which at the present point is lacking.

If a better solution to the pothole problem is to be found a way to kind of just our streets now must be changed. Better solution would be to hot patch during the winter months. But we are unable to obtain a hot patch in the winter months. Most of the plants are closed down for the winter. Well we do have a local company that does provide the high tech service around the city looked into that. We have contacted almost every firm in the area that supplies had bachelors the best of my knowledge none of them supply house action or wonder much. Can your machine make patches in the winter. Oh yeah absolutely that's its chief advantage no wonder my zoo would have to protect it from freezing on a truck with that they're protected from freezing in the street and it would take a lot longer to install a hot patch does it take long to install this equipment. There's no installation at all you taught behind a truck to any location you want.

If you could find such a company nearby that could provide that service all year round with the city before we would be going to the winter months we'd have to truck and as I mentioned before it would take a lot longer to install the patch but I think it would last for the patch itself would last longer we would be taking. Smaller potholes and doing them with a hot patch prevent the same thought over and over again. Have you contacted the city about your machine. Yes we have talked to Mr. Grimes who is one of the engineers up there he is a man that we get referred to when we have anything to do with the city streets or highway. Has anybody from the city seen your machine in operation. MR. Was it a demonstration of this machine in Rochester. Last fall. And what was his reaction. I dont know we had no contact with him there. And the only thing we did this

year was get in touch with him. How much money we have spent in one year for patching holes that I have no idea I know that we are running short of material and we are looking for additional material as far as the dollar value goes I could see right now but I wouldn't even venture a guess right now. Three hundred thousand to one I wouldn't I wouldn't have any idea what the total cost be to the city if you're hot. Well we're we're estimating that probably the city of Buffalo could take care of potholes was probably five or six machines. This would be a cost of around forty eight thousand dollars. The operating cost of this machine is approximately. Figuring about one hundred twenty day usage in months when you can't buy a hot patch. We figure it's going to be about four

thousand forty eight hundred dollars. The actual operating cost. How does that compare with the current cost for a cold patch. I'm not absolutely sure of this figure but the cold patch we have heard running as high as $300000 a season is completely temporary not permanent. How does your machine work. Well our machines. Very simply heat blacktop or asphalt. At 300 degrees temperature or better any time of the year. Propane can be used in the coldest winter months. This is heated with propane. In the 200 pound propane tanks and that will last for a day for an 8 hour shift. At a cost of approximately 16 to $18 a tank. Talking

$32 for propane. Recycling old asphalt there's no cost to that. Let's recycle old asphalt. Normally would be hauled away. And also it allows anybody to put good hot asphalt down in the cold. To our pothole problem here. We're always going to happen. But the solution for the number of potholes is a good program it's a program that is going to replace some of the old streets. Some of our streets are a hundred fifty years old. Consequently we are dying of old age I guess you'd call it if our city fathers realistically come up with a solution whereby permanent patching the result would be much less frustrating for the victims of our city's

battered streets. All I wanted was my money for the tires we had to pay to play new tires. And I like to go down to City Hall. And show in the situation. That dealing with the drivers have to deal with day after day because I don't think he's aware of the situation because he's around town that you don't even know. On her. Own.

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