Marino: Utica’s Paving Plan Lacks Transparency

Utica Councilman and Mayoral candidate Joe Marino was at the corner of Sherman Drive and South Park Drive today to discuss the City's paving plan.

Marino says the paving plan lacks transparency and he says what roads are being paved are based on political decisions.

He says no mayor should not be allowed to pick and choose one neighborhood over another and one street to another when it comes to paving.  Marino says it should be done by professional engineers.

Marino wants to know why a full list of which roads are being paved isn't made available to the public

Voters approved a plan three years ago to pave all 215 miles of city streets over ten years.

Marino will face Mayor Robert Palmieri in a June primary.

Palmieri issued the following statement regarding Marino's claims:

“As usual, much of the things that are being said are simply untrue. I’m not interested in the back-and-forth. Members of city government should be trying to work together to address the concerns of our citizens and not use them to score political points. As mayor, I’m more interested in doing the job than pointing the finger.”