The Franklin News-Post
P. O. Box 250
310 Main Street, SW
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
540-483-5113
Fax: 540-483-8013
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Staff Photo by Charles Boothe:
Town crews used a front-end loader and dump trucks to clear streets in Rocky Mount during a winter snowstorm. |
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
By JOEL TURNER - Staff Writer
With the temperature hovering around 90 degrees in recent weeks in Rocky Mount, it's hard to think of snow.
But town officials can't escape the thought of snow as they calculate the town's snow-related expenditures for the past fiscal year.
The cost of snow removal in Rocky Mount this past winter was nearly 400 percent higher than anticipated.
Based on the costs for clearing the streets in past winters, the town budgeted $16,380 for snow removal in this fiscal year,
That seemed to be a good estimate.
Based on snowfall patterns in recent years, that would have been plenty of money to clear the streets -- with some funds leftover for next year.
During the 2008-2009 winter, snow removal cost the town only $10,710.
But town officials didn't anticipate the December storm that dumped 15 inches of snow in Rocky Mount.
The record snowstorm in December required long hours for town crews and the use of heavy equipment to clear the streets.
The town spent $15,765 to clear the streets and sidewalks after the December 2009 storm.
In December 2008, the town spent only $295 for snow removal.
The December 2009 snowstorm was just the beginning of the town's spiraling costs for snow removal. There were several storms in February.
By the end of winter, Rocky Mount had spent $65,412 for snow removal, according to a financial report by Finance Director Linda Woody.
That was 399 percent higher than the budgeted amount.
Rocky Mount has to clear snow from nine lane miles of primary streets and 31 lane miles of secondary streets.
After the December snowstorm, some merchants complained about parking spaces not being cleared, saying they were worried about Christmas sales and convenience for shoppers.
The first priority in such a large storm is to clear the streets so that police and emergency vehicles can get through and respond to emergencies, Assistant Town Manager Matt Hankins said.
Unlike large metropolitan areas, Rocky Mount has a limited staff for snow removal, so it takes time to clear all streets, he said.
The high costs for snow removal came at a time when the town is struggling with the worst budget crunch in years. |
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