Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Snow removal budgets buried
There's trouble ahead for the state and some localities as the flakes -- and costs -- pile up.
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Two storms that have dumped more than 2 feet of snow on Western Virginia in the past six weeks have pounded local and state winter cleanup budgets.
Headed into February -- which historically provides the lion's share of annual snow -- and with revenues still down because of a national economic slowdown, governments are scrambling to find the money to prepare for the worst.
Officials are still working to clear roads of snow from the past weekend's storm, and most governments don't yet have figures on the cost. But the December storm and smaller storms since have already consumed most or all of the money set aside for snow removal.
Even before the weekend, the Virginia Department of Transportation's Salem District had spent $5.4 million of the $7.2 million budgeted for snow removal this winter, said spokeswoman Heidi Underwood. The Salem District handles the plowing in a 12-county area that includes Roanoke, Botetourt, Bedford and Franklin counties.
The cash-strapped agency must now wait to see how expensive the latest road-clearing work was to learn how big a hole has been blown in its budget.
Extra money to pay for the snow removal would come from money earmarked for maintenance work such as mowing and pothole repair, said VDOT spokesman Jason Bond.
"We'll always push snow," Underwood said. "We'll find the money from somewhere."
Likewise, the city of Roanoke -- which is responsible for plowing its roads -- had exceeded its budget for snow removal three times over, even before this weekend's storm, according to figures provided by the city's budget department.
The city had set aside $110,280 for overtime, chemicals and miscellaneous expenses in its snow budget this year. But before the weekend, the city had already spent $338,039. That total includes an additional $198,230 from the city's budget contingency fund that the council voted to spend for 3,000 tons of extra salt.
With the salt already purchased, most of the costs for snow removal from the past weekend's storm came from vehicle expenses and overtime for about 50 city employees who plowed the streets. The number of drivers -- which includes most any city employee with a commercial driver's license -- is down from past years because of attrition and a hiring freeze, said Assistant City Manager Jim Grigsby.
The cost of this past weekend's storm is still unknown, but even if it runs high, he said, the city will continue to make sure there's money to plow streets.
"Those are really the core services our citizens demand," Grigsby said. "You might get away with delaying some things at times, but snow removal is not one of them. That and public safety, those are our sacred cows."
Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham provided a similar assurance to the council Monday: "We will do what we have to do."
Salem, which operates 25 heavy plow-trucks, has about 300 lane miles of road to cover during storms.
City spokesman Mike Stevens said crews spread salt Friday night and began plowing early Saturday and through Sunday. He said they finished most of the work by 4 p.m. Sunday and "finished up a few minor leftovers" Monday.
Salem earlier in the year budgeted $95,000 for snow and ice removal.
Finance Director Frank Turk said Monday that, based on numbers from December's storm and estimated costs related to the weekend's weather, the city has spent about $159,000.
Stevens said the city has not yet determined how it would cover the additional money spent.
"At the end of the budget year unspent money will get moved to cover these operating expenses, and this money likely will be capital money," he said.
Other municipalities under-budgeted for snow removal, too.
In the city of Bedford, the weekend wallop of snow cost $20,000 to clean up, said Jeff Weddle, the city's director of public services. The city had only budgeted several thousand dollars for snow removal this year, he added, meaning that Bedford officials will have to find money elsewhere.
Before this weekend's storm, the town of Rocky Mount had surpassed its $16,300 snow removal budget by $12,000, said Assistant Town Manager Matt Hankins.
Plowing the streets will mean fewer streets get paved come spring, as funds are taken from that task to cover snow removal, he added. The town's 10-man, five-truck crew is responsible for all streets in the town limits.
Not all local governments have used up the snow removal funds.
Christiansburg Town Manager Lance Terpenny said right now the town is running low on salt after the latest round of winter weather, but he hopes a new shipment will arrive this week.
He said the town budgets for snow removal each year and this year's budget is $200,000, which covers material, equipment operation and repair and overtime costs.
"We usually budget pretty heavily for snow removal," Terpenny said.
If there is leftover money after the winter, Terpenny said that is used in the spring for repaving streets.
In Blacksburg, Deputy Town Manager Steve Ross said each year the town budgets for winter storms and is still within its budget.
More winter precipitation is forecast for today in the region, and there's a chance of a significant winter storm this weekend.
Staff writers Janelle Rucker and Neil Harvey and New River Bureau Editor Chris Winston contributed to this report .
