Overtime, Private Contractors Bulk of October Snow Costs

The township spent about $32,000 on the October snowstorm, with the money paying for Public Works overtime, materials and outside contractors, according to Township Chief Financial Officer Nancy Haberle.

About $5,000 of the total was used on eight tons of salt and fuel for the vehicles, and $27,000 went toward outside contractors Haberle said.

The storm costs do not include the 2010 Christmas blizzard or the snows seen earlier in 2011, since those were part of the 2010 fiscal year. However, the township spent all of the $66,000 it budgeted for snow cleanup costs during that year, Haberle said.

With the $140,000 in overtime, dumpster rentals and tree removal from Hurricane Irene, the town’s spent close to $200,000 in the 2011 budget year on natural disaster clean up. The township has applied for FEMA reimbursement for the hurricane cleanup costs Haberle said. It hopes to see 75 percent of the $140,000 reimbursed by the government.

Despite the snow’s early arrival during the 2011 fiscal year, the township does not expect to run out of salt, Haberle said. Its two salt domes have a combined capacity of about 3,900 tons, so the township is not worried about running out of salt or sand. In addition, the township would transfer funds from other accounts should it need to replenish salt stocks.

“The salt domes have a lot of salt in it so we don’t anticipate having a problem unless there is a large storm,” Haberle said. “We’re pretty sure that we should be fine until the end of the year.”

Likewise, the township’s Department of Public Works budget can handle any department overtime, according to Haberle. “The only thing that we would have a problem with is if there is a large storm,” Haberle said. “We have money in the DPW budget to cover the overtime.”