City Says It’s Staying Within Snow Removal Budget

COLORADO SPRINGS – Colorado Springs’ is gearing up to shell out tens of thousands of dollars this weekend to keep your streets clear during a snowstorm. But everyone knows the budget is tight and Colorado Springs Street Division supervisors say it costs an average of $60,000 to $80,000 for snow cleanup per storm.

This year, Mother Nature has helped ensure our streets can stay cleared through the end of this snow season. “It’s actually saved the city money by not being a harsh winter,” says Allen Peterson, a supervisor with the City of Colorado Springs Street Division.

A mild winter equals fewer major storms this winter and fewer full callouts for city snowplows. “We’re in good shape,” Peterson says of the snow removal budget, “we’ve budgeted properly throughout the year and we’ve got materials to last us.”

Materials like the salt and sand trucks spread on the roads. An order went in Thursday, just in case this spring brings lots of snow. “I spent just under $100,000 this morning stocking up to get us almost at full capacity,” Peterson says.

Having some money to spare is a big improvement from recent winters. “We haven’t had the big blizzards like we had in 2006 and 2007 when we plowed for a month straight,” says Peterson.

To give you an idea of the snow removal budget, in 2008, the city spent $1,264,000. That includes personnel, equipment, de-icer and other materials. This year, the city’s budget for snow materials alone like sand and salt, is $320,000. Overtime for plow crews comes out of the Streets Division overtime budget, which is just under $150,000.

Peterson says even if we’re bombarded with snow throughout the spring, they’re stocked and ready and won’t run out of supplies or money.