TRUMBULL COUNTY Snow removal melts finances

High snow-removal costs will force some departments to rob Peter to pay Paul.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The last snow has melted, but the bills linger on.
Local officials are being forced to consider scaling back summer paving projects or postponing equipment purchases to pay for higher-than-usual snow removal costs this winter.
The winter of 2002-03 was one of the snowiest in recent years. About 90 inches of snow fell in Trumbull County this winter compared with a more usual 40 or 50.
Crews from the Trumbull County Engineer's Office made 77 runs this year compared with 39 the previous winter.
That means more expense for road salt, grit and overtime -- not just for the county engineer, but every government body responsible for roads.
"What we budgeted for overtime for the entire year, we spent during the winter months," said Larry Kren, streets superintendent in Girard.
For salt, that city spent $27,850 this winter, almost $12,000 more than last year.
"We are going to have to find the money elsewhere in the department," Kren said.
Howland, too
Howland also spent about twice as much on salt and overtime. Between the two, the township spent $43,176 more on snow removal this year than last.
"We will just cut back on road projects to make up for it," Orwig said.
The township generally spends between $300,000 to $350,000 each summer on roadwork, he said.
The additional $330,000 the county engineer spent on snow removal this year will be made up from the budget for new equipment, said Chris Connelly, the road superintendent.
The department had planned on buying an excavator and three new dump trucks. Instead, it will get just two dump trucks, and no excavator, Connelly said.
The machines the department will be hanging onto have another year of useful life left, he said.
ODOT district
District 4 of the Ohio Department of Transportation in Ravenna, which covers Trumbull, Stark, Summit, Portage, Mahoning and Ashtabula counties, spent $5 million on salt this winter, compared with $2.4 million last year.
The additional money for salt will not affect the funds available for road improvements, an ODOT spokeswoman said.