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Records show the city paid $10,478.73 to satisfy 16 claims submitted during the fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2024, through June 30 of this year. All but two of the claims were paid in 2025, either near the end of winter or in the subsequent months.

In 2023-24, the city paid $5,297.80 to settle seven claims. The city has paid one claim totaling $518.40 in the current fiscal year, according to Auburn City Clerk Chuck Mason.

ÓÐÁϺÐ×Ó sought the claims after the City Council's discussion about spending $750,000 to pave a stretch of North Street from Seymour Street to the northern city line. Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino remarked that the highest number of claims submitted to the city are from vehicles damaged while driving on North Street.

Through its FOIL request, ÓÐÁϺÐ×Ó received some of the claims that were paid by the city. The largest, totaling $1,923.62, was for damages caused by a city vehicle striking a parked vehicle. Mason said the incident involved a snowplow.

Most of the claims, though, are for damage caused by potholes.

The city paid $1,151.45 to settle a claim for damages caused on Jan. 27. According to the claim, the owner of the vehicle hit a pothole near the railroad tracks on North Street. The vehicle needed two new tires.

At least two other claims stemmed from damages on North Street. The city paid $610.34 to reimburse for damages caused by a street "defect" on April 7. A separate claim, totaling $909.12, was paid after a driver reported their vehicle was damaged by a pothole on April 13.

Damages have been reported on other city streets. One claim for $599.70 was paid after damage caused by a pothole on Arterial West. The city also paid $135 after a vehicle was damaged by a pothole on Fitch Avenue.

Details about can be found on the city's website, . According to the provisions outlined there, a notice of claim must be filed within 90 days from the date of the alleged incident. The notice of claim must include a written statement detailing the incident.

Claimants are advised not to include the amount of damages in the notice of claim. However, they may attach a listing of the damages, such as copies of receipts, to the claim. The city asks for two estimates to be provided if damages exceed $500.

The claims should be submitted to the city clerk's office at Memorial City Hall.

Some of the city's worst thoroughfares should be addressed by road projects over the next few years. The North Street paving project has been added to the road program for this year. It will complement an intersection widening project at North Street and Standart Avenue.

In 2026, the state Department of Transportation will launch a multi-year project to pave and make other improvements to the Arterial.