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Mild winter saving cities, counties money

February 03, 2012|By DAVID BROCK | dbrock@amnews.com

Clay Jackson/cjackson@amnews.com

The mild weather this winter may have been a disappointment for those hoping for a white Christmas or some snowy recreation, but it has also meant hundreds of thousands in savings for area governments.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Thursday, Groundhog Day, meaning six more weeks of winter if you are superstitious. However, if that means six more weeks of mid-50s temperatures during the day, city and county road crews will be able to live with that.

Duane Campbell, Boyle County Public Works director, said the county averaged ordering about 1,000 tons of road salt over the last four years before last year’s frequent ice and snow events meant having to order about 1,300 tons. The price of road salt has risen as it has been harder to come by during the last several years as well.

This winter, however, Campbell said the savings so far have probably been about $80,000. Overtime also has gone down from the 60-100 hours typical during the first quarter to virtually none. “We definitely aren’t out of the woods yet, but temperatures usually aren’t as cold going forward, and we are able to deal with it better when it’s warmer,” Campbell said.

The milder weather also means less wear and tear on county vehicles this year.

The savings have also been large for the city of Danville so far. Like Campbell, Assistant City Engineer Josh Morgan is mindful that late winter storms could be in store, but it appears the city will be well under budget at this point.

As of Thursday, the city had spent only about $14,000 of its $47,500 budget for salt and only $3,764 of its $15,350 allocation for overtime.

The milder winter has an added benefit for workers who have to clear snowy or icy roads. “It is big for morale purposes,” Morgan said. “It is hard work and it is tough when you are doing your regular job, then you are getting called out in the middle of the night under those conditions several times a week for several weeks in a row.”

Other area governments have a similar sunny outlook on the potential for thousands in savings.

Garrard County Deputy Judge-Executive James Bushnell said the county hasn’t dipped into its road salt budget at all after spending about $34,000 on the product last year in the first quarter alone.

“It’s an unexpected plus for the budget and makes a tremendous difference,” Bushnell said. “It’s one of those things in the budget, kind of like the jail budget, where it is very difficult to predict. It’s kind of its own beast.”

Lincoln County Treasurer Teresa Padgett said the county has spent about $4,000 of its $25,000 budget for salt so far and only a few hundred dollars on overtime.

Mercer County Treasurer Gayle Horn said she has made a salt order once this fiscal year, and at the current rate, the county will be able to stockpile its supply for next winter.

“We are fortunate that we have a place we can keep all of our salt, and some places don’t have that,” Horn said. “If this continues, it will be great for us.”

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