Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - As the Erie County Executive and Buffalo Mayor traded barbs over snow removal efforts in the City on Wednesday, the people charged with leading crews on the roads seemed to have no interest in the conflict.
"The sharing of resources, the mutual aid we've gotten from the County and New York State have been helpful," said Nate Martin, Public Works Commissioner in the City of Buffalo. "When you get to a level of storm as historic in nature as we had across an entire region... no one entity can handle that."
While Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz called the City's snow removal effort "embarrassing" and suggested the County could take over snow removal responsibilities from the city in the future during a Wednesday news conference, County Public Works Commissioner Bill Geary said that on the ground it's a team effort.
"We're always in communication with the Department of Public Works in the City," Geary said. "Nate Martin and I, through this storm (have been in communication). Sometimes just a simple text message giving words of encouragement."
"We have one mission and one mission only," Geary said. "It's one team, one fight. That's the way I like to look at it. We're in there, we're all working, and we need to get these streets open."
