Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Greg Mellis Snowplows were out in force to keep state Highway 29 clear of snow and ice as traffic moved westward Friday morning. The area escaped the worst of a winter storm that dropped up to 18 inches of snow in parts of western and northern Wisconsin.
It has been a rough two winters in a row for city and county snow plowing budgets, leaving both the county Highway Department and the city’s Department of Public Works keeping their fingers crossed for a more moderate March.
Budgeting at both departments is complicated by having to predict spending for the last three months of one winter season and the first month or two of the next.
Last year started with a winter that apparently didn’t get the seasonal change memo and lingered into the spring.
Shawano Public Works Coordinator Eddie Sheppard said the hectic spring put the department behind only a few months into 2013, and the year ended over budget.
“We ended up with a lot of (spending on) materials and overtime,” he said. “It put us quite a bit over budget.”
Sheppard said that was made up by cutting back on other services, such as street sweeping.
“When you have to pull in people on overtime for plowing, other services get reduced a lot,” he said.
Shawano County Highway Commissioner Grant Bystol said his department ended 2013 about 20 percent over what was budgeted.
That will be made up partly by a winter cash reserve the department has on hand and partly by cutting back on road work and paving this summer.
Unfortunately, January and February of this winter have not been much kinder.
Bystol estimated the department was already running about 10 percent over budget; a combination of overtime and materials expenses.
“We’re hoping for a milder March,” he said.
Bystol said the county’s supply of salt and sand are currently in good shape, but might not be if the weather does not improve.
“If it continues as is, we might be in trouble a little later,” he said.
Though chronically subzero temperatures overnight and highs lingering below freezing on most days may be what this winter will be best remembered for, there has also been a higher than average amount of snow.
Bystol said snowfall so far has probably been about 20 inches over the average.
Sheppard said the number of snowfalls has been more of a problem than the total amount.
“We’ve had an unusual amount of snowfalls,” he said. “A lot of 2 inches here and 2 inches there.”
Sheppard said those are harder to plan for and require more logistical judgment than dealing with a storm that drops 7 to 8 inches at once.
The wintry mix that moved through Thursday and Friday was a particular challenge. Only about an inch of snow was recorded locally, but high winds and freezing rain proved much more difficult to deal with.
A major concern was whether temperatures would drop enough Thursday night to create an ice hazard on the roads.
“We had people waking up every hour on the hour to check the temperatures,” Sheppard said.