Melting road budgets

Budgeting for snow removal can be a slippery slope. If the season brings back-to-back monster winter storms, budgets melt away and less money is left in the spring and summer for road-repair projects and new equipment. The city council of Oak Ridge, TN, slashed its snow removal budget from $80,000 i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American City & County 2004-04, Vol.119 (4), p.46
Main Author: Barton, Mary Ann
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Budgets
Counties
Engineers
Finance
Government finance
Ice
Public works departments
Roads
Roads & highways
Salt
Snow removal
Storms
Streets
United States
Winter
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Summary:Budgeting for snow removal can be a slippery slope. If the season brings back-to-back monster winter storms, budgets melt away and less money is left in the spring and summer for road-repair projects and new equipment. The city council of Oak Ridge, TN, slashed its snow removal budget from $80,000 in 2003 to $20,000 in 2004. Fortunately, snowfall was fairly mild in the Oak Ridge area this winter. On the east side of Lake Erie, in Geauga County, where the average snowfall can reach 120 inches, the county spent around $1 million in annual snow removal. While Kansas City, MO's reduction in its snow removal budget from $1.9 million to $1.6 million was not as severe as Oak Ridge's, the city went over budget because of an extreme winter. The city experienced an average amount of snow, but saw more than its share of rain, freezing rain and ice.
ISSN:0149-337X
2161-9123