In Springfield, the latest storm was expected to deplete the last $50,000 of a $1.7 million snow removal budget.
Two private contractor trucks owned by Dubay Brothers Roofing of Springfield make their way down Home Street in Springfield on Friday afternoon.SPRINGFIELD - City and towns, including Springfield, have watched their snow removal budgets evaporate following a series of snowstorms and icy road conditions the past two weeks.
In Springfield, the latest storm Friday was expected to wipe out the last $50,000 in a snow removal budget that began the winter with $1.7 million.
“I hope the sun comes out and it’s 70 degrees the rest of the winter,” Public Works Director Allan R. Chwalek said Friday. “There have been a lot of storms and some major, major events. We’ve gone through a lot of money.”
In contrast, Chwalek said he believes last year ended with a surplus of a few hundred thousand dollars.
A snowstorm on Jan. 12 dumped about about two feet of snow in the Springfield area. A storm this past Tuesday featured a mix of snow, sleet and rain that was also very difficult and time-consuming, he said.
Holyoke, meanwhile, had set aside $160,000 for snow removal this winter.
That was gone by the time the clean-up had finished of the snow storm that broke the day after Christmas, Superintendent William D. Fuqua said.
The Holyoke City Council is considering an appropriation for $200,000 more for snow removal. Fuqua had yet to calculate the exact amount spent on snow-removal this season.
In Springfield, the city has plowed during four storms this winter and used sanders three additional times, Chwalek said.
The City Council will consider allowing the city to deficit-spend to cover snow removal costs in future weeks. Under state law, communities can vote to deficit spend, using other available funds, to cover their snow costs.
The snow budget covers costs including sand, salt, hired plows and equipment, and overtime funds. The city hires about 170 private plows and trucks to assist city crews during snowstorms.
Some area officials say they hope that federal aid will be obtained to help partially reimburse costs related to the Jan. 12 storm.
Chicopee had already spent about $370,000 before about four inches of snow fell on Friday, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.
The city had budgeted $100,000 for the winter but always expects to add more once leftover money from the previous year is certified and can be used. This year, Bissonnette set aside about $1 million and said the annual budget has run between $400,000 and $900,000 in the recent past.
“The past two weeks have stretched our resources with substantial overtime but we will spend what is necessary to keep the roads as safe as possible,” he said.
In Westfield, the snow and ice removal budget is already operating in the red because of expenses for sand, salt, overtime and hiring private plow operators.
City Auditor Deborah A. Strycharz said Friday the Department of Public Works is already showing a negative balance of $337,749 from its original fiscal year 2011 storm budget of $400,000. That balance does not include expenses from Friday morning’s storm.
The $400,000 represents an increase of about $40,000 from recent year budgeting to cover snow and ice expenses. Previously, the city routinely allotted $360,000 annually and then use its free cash account at the end of the year to balance the budget. In fiscal 2009, the winter deficit was $900,102.
In Northampton, the City Council passed a resolution Thursday night declaring a snow emergency, which allows the city to spend over its budget, said Northampton Finance Director Christopher B. Pile.
The city has about $16,000 remaining in its snow budget for salaries and about $70,000 for materials, from its budget of $326,350. Last year, the city spent $103,000 over budget, Pile said. The budgets were the same.
In Belchertown, Steven J. Williams, public works director, said he has reached nearly the limit of his annual snow and ice budget of $212,000. Once the final numbers come in, and if the town has gone over its budgeted amount, he said he will ask the Board of Selectmen to declare a snow emergency that will allow him to continue spending on a deficit basis.
“Snow is already forecasted for Tuesday and Wednesday,” Williams said. “We could have 10 more storms or that could be the last one of the year.”
Staff writers Mike Plaisance, Ted LaBorde, Diane Lederman, Jeanette DeForge and Lori Stabile contributed to this report.