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City estimates to exceed snow budget by $400,000

JANESVILLE — Even though 2008 is less than 3 months old, the city is estimating it will exceed its annual snow removal budget by nearly $400,000, according to a memo from Jack Messer, director of public works.

The 2008 snow removal budget is $822,359, while the estimated expenditures are $1.2 million.

While it’s up to the city council to decide how to make up the difference, money likely will be pulled from other projects that are under budget, said John Whitcomb, operations director.

“If we’re over in snow removal, we quite possibly under-expended in other areas,” he said. “If we’re plowing snow, we’re not doing other things.”

Much of the budget depends largely on how March and April will go, and Whitcomb said the city will reassess the budget this summer after final numbers for this winter are in.

The city also reduced some service levels this year by using a salt/sand mix, chemically treating residential intersections on a limited basis, removing snow from downtown in limited areas and waiting for more snow accumulation before plowing.

Whitcomb said additional service level cuts have been identified but not implemented. He said those were internal discussions and would not speculate further.

Spending more than is budgeted in the city’s snow removal budget is not unusual. The city has overspent its snow removal budget in 10 of the last 15 years, Whitcomb said. It’s all related to snowfall, he said.

Budgets usually are based on a winter season with about 35 inches of snow, he said. Janesville has seen about 50 inches since Jan. 1.

Before plowing begins in November or December, the city will need to spend money repairing and replacing plows and salt spreaders and replenishing its salt supply.

Given the size of the Feb. 6-7 storm, the city tracked expenses related to that storm, which totaled $230,167. Costs included:

-- $109,046 for plowing

-- $35,080 for chemical spreading

-- $17,976 for downtown removal

-- $19,456 for sidewalk shoveling

-- $27,287 for parking lot removal

-- $21,322 for catch basin clearing (which isn’t charged to the snow removal budget)

That storm caused “significant departure from normal operating procedures” including:

-- Canceling trash and recycling collection two days in a row

-- Closing the landfill

-- Plowing main and arterial streets four times

Plows did not get to the residential areas until the storm had ended.

-- Performing a limited downtown removal operation

-- Creating multiple shifts for personnel and equipment

-- Maintaining operations for 46 consecutive hours

-- Responding to a police request to plow parking for vehicles diverted from the Interstate 90/39 backup

-- Taking a high volume of calls, including about 60 calls an hour at the peak.