Bernards Closes in on $500,000 Spent for Snow Removal in 2010

With the Bernards receiving record amounts of snow, the township has spent nearly $500,000 on snow removal this year, with more expenditures likely coming in the next month as well as next December.

According to Township CFO and Administrator Bruce McArthur, Bernards spent $422,000 on snow removal before last week's snow storm, which he expects cost between $60,000 - 75,000.

Approximately $97,000 of the $422,000 was taken out of the township's trust fund for catastrophic snow, which is added to in years with little snow and depleted in heavy winters like 2010.

"It is my intention to budget snow flat," McArthur said. "We had some milder winters a few years ago, and we took advantage of the opportunity to reserve some money in a trust fund for snow removal. That way we can level out our funding for snow removal from year to year."

In 2009, the township budgeted $533,000 for snow removal and only needed to spend $440,000, a number that was most likely been eclipsed in 2010 after just two months. The 2009 number was also inflated by a large purchase of salt that wasn't used until this year, according to McArthur.

"On Dec. 31, our sheds were bulging with snow paid for out of last year's budget," McArthur said, "At this stage in the game... I'm saying we're running about $90,000 - $100,000 over the 2009 year. That's with an estimate on last week's storms,"

Most of the money is spent on labor (public works employees get paid overtime for shoveling snow during non-standard work hours), contractors (snow plow services, etc) and materials (mostly salt for the roads).

According to McArthur, the township has spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars on salt in 2010 to keep Bernard's three salt sheds well stocked and the roads clear.

With the some snow expected to fall in March, as well as next December, McArthur said it is likely the township will have to tap into their reserve funds for snow removal.

"We have about $550,000 reserved in the trust fund for catastrophic snow, which essentially represents a full year's worth of what we typically budget for in a snow year," McArthur said. "Even if we don't get any more snow we'll be filling up those sheds in December, so we'll clearly be dipping into our trust account this year."