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Hildebrandt, Konrad
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TAB 6
Daily Herald (Provo, UT)
January 6, 2004
Storms draining cities' snow-removal funds
Author: TAMMY MCPHERSON - The Daily Herald
Last winter, Cedar Hills spent $11,000 to clear the city roads.
This year, the city budgeted nearly twice as much, but with a few more snowy months to go, the
city has already used up about half of the $30,000, said city administrator Konrad Hildebrandt.
"We've used more salt and sand than the previous two years combined," Hildebrandt said.
Like Cedar Hills, many cities throughout Utah County have been surprised at the amount of
money they've already used clearing streets in the wake of recent snowstorms.
The funds many cities planned for snow removal, including materials and wages, may not be
enough this year. If the money runs out, city managers say they might have to juggle the street
department budget or ask the city council to let them take the money out of other areas of the
budget.
Regardless of the cost, Hildebrandt and others said the most important thing is to have safe
roads for residents.
"Safety is paramount," Hildebrandt said.
Pleasant Grove city administrator Frank Mills said he thought snow removal would cost about
$15,000 this winter. But after meeting with the public works director, he found the costs will be
about $10,000 more.
"It's not nearly enough after seeing what's happening," Mills said.
In December, Pleasant Grove received 16.5 inches of snow, with many cities throughout the
county getting at least that much, according to David James, BYU weather station overseer.
Most of the snow removal money is going to overtime pay, with the crews working throughout
the night to ensure safe roads for those heading to work in the mornings, said Layne Long,
Springville city manager.
"Snowstorms typically don't fall between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.," Long said.
American Fork is also spending most of its money on overtime wages. This year, the city
budgeted $10,000 for overtime related to snow removal, but the city will soon need to make
adjustments in the budget, said Carl Wanlass, city administrator
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