By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- The Town Council will be sending a letter to Assemblywoman Addie Jenne expressing their dismay at the possible shift of expenses for speed limit changes from the state onto local municipalities.

They are seeking clarification of the provisions of a speed limit bill that passed the state Senate that could end up costing the town tens of thousands of dollars.

Although rare, according to town Highway Superintendent John Keleher, petitions to change a speed limit on a stretch or all of a town road have until now simply been forwarded to the state Department of Transportation, which would fund and carry out an analysis of the request.

But a bill approved in the Senate in February could result in the town footing the bill for hiring a highway engineer “that would cost $10,000 each time” to examine the appropriateness of a request to change a speed limit before sending the findings to the county, the state police and the state DOT.

The bill was characterized at the meeting as an unfunded mandate from the state.

“Whether it ends up being changed or not, we pay for the study,” Keleher said at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, whose district includes several eastern St. Lawrence County townships, would create a uniform, statewide standard, according to a press release from her office. The text of the bill, S389, does not specify such requirements.

An Assembly version of the bill is still in committee.

The release from Sen. Little said that current law allows villages, cities and towns with populations greater than 50,000 to set their speed limits without first receiving DOT approval, but about 850 towns, such as Potsdam, now present petitions with any change requests from citizens directly to DOT.

A speed limit change would need to be certified by a licensed professional engineer specializing in traffic operations, Little’s office said, although it did not say who would pay the engineer or related costs.

The town will be seeking clarification of the bill’s intent from Assemblywoman Addie Jenne, D-Theresa, who represents Potsdam, Canton and several more towns along the St. Lawrence River, as well as DePeyster, Macomb and Rossie.