Twp. to Purchase $80K of Rock Salt As Winter Awaits

The township is looking to order another $80,000 worth of rock salt through a Somerset County co-op contract in order to store up the winter remedy against ice and snow before winter arrives — again.

removal costs from $500,000 to $632,000 for 2011, said Township Administrator Bruce McArthur.

The extra money was drawn from a trust fund for snow operations, previously set aside for winters that required excessive snow removal, and was not added to this year's municipal tax bill, McArthur said on Thursday.

The $80,000 purchase authorized on Tuesday by the Township Committee is coming from the already-allocated snow removal budget for 2011, not the trust fund, the administrator said.

"We spent $255,000 on road salt in 2010, and $187,000 so far in 2011," McArthur said on Thursday. "The seasons 'overlap' since we order early to make sure we have proper supply stored in the sheds, he said.

The $80,000 purchase, to be added to the already spent amount for 2011, is to fill up the township's salt storage sheds. The order also will include other possible deliveries for any end-of-year storms , or those that take place early in the new year, he said.

McArthur pointed out that road salt expenditures have been pretty consistent for the two years, at $255,000 for last year and $267,000 for 2011, once the $80,000 is added in.

"Both years exceeded our budget," McArthur said. The fickleness of winter weather is "why we built up a trust fund for snow operations to deal with year to year variations caused by weather."

McArthur said he is hoping the snow operations budget for 2011 will make it into 2012 within the budgeted amount.