After Tough Winter, Public Works Running Over Budget for Snow Removal

After being hit with 121 inches of snow this past winter, most of which fell in February, the Public Works Department’s budget was spared by a substantial drop in gas prices.

As of April 22, the Department had used 24,000 gallons of fuel, according to Public Works Director Janusz Czyzowski.

“It varies from year to year. Obviously, we are going to go close to 30,000 by the end of the year because we’re using the trucks now for other work,” he said. “The price is $2.20 per gallon. If it were around what it was last year ($3.12 to $4.02 per gallon), we would be way over in fuel. We’re only 28 percent over in fuel, but it would be much more if fuel prices hadn’t dropped. That really saved us.”

The Department generally budgets for 22 storms – this year it responded to 29 storm events, compared with 36 snow events last year. However, the Town saw 121 inches of snow this year, compared with 95 inches in FY14, according to Czyzowski.

The total snow removal budget for FY15 is $453,555; and so far, $439,287, or 97 percent of the budget, is expended.

“Winter started pretty strong on Thanksgiving, then we got a break for a couple months. But that didn’t last long, and through February, we got heavy snow everywhere,” Czyzowski said, noting that many of this past winter’s snow events happened during the weekend, contributing to the significant over-expenditure of snow overtime salaries.

Snow overtime salaries were budgeted at $84,555 and are expended at $162,332, or 192 percent over budget; part-time salaries are almost double what was budgeted for the line item, with $18,420 expended of the $10,000 budgeted.

Czyzowski plans to reallocate money in FY16, having taken $25,000 from snow removal services and putting it into part-time salaries.

The hourly rate for part-time services is about $24 per hour, compared with about $72 per hour for full-time services.

“On average, when I look back five years at what we spend for overtime, on average it’s $115,000. I had $84,555 in the budget, so that’s not enough. I had asked for more and I didn’t get more,” he said. “For FY16, I will get $103,000, so we’re slightly increasing that. But we spend $115,000 on average, so giving me $85,000 I will be in the hole right away. Let’s put the money where it really belongs.”

Czyzowski also held off on purchasing more sand in FY15, pulling from the Town’s stockpile to survive the winter. Although the shed is running low, the Department will not purchase more sand until FY16 due to the spending freeze and having considered the overages for the cost of overtime and part-time salaries, as well as gasoline supplies.

“I think if we don’t get a heavier winter than this year, we will be okay. Even though we’re starting with a little less in the shed, we should be all right,” he said.