Unusual weather this winter has brought unexpected expenses for public works departments in cities and towns throughout DeKalb County.

The City of DeKalb had a budget of $110,000 for this snow season.

“We estimate that we have doubled that amount [to] roughly $220,000,” said Rick Monas, DeKalb Public Works director.

The town of Cortland had an unexpected twist in its budget, due to the bankruptcy of Newman Homes.

“Cortland’s original street budget was $18,900,” said John Kocher, director of operations and maintenance in Cortland. “This budget line had to be amended to cover the cost of subcontracting the snow removal for their subdivision.”

Because of this, Cortland’s budget was raised to $31,650.

Cortland is not letting this year’s unusual winter affect it for next year.
“I have already set my budget numbers for next year,” Kocher said. “It will just be normal increases based on any new equipment or roadways accepted by the town.”

DeKalb County Public Works Department has experienced a 50 percent budget increase from the season, running from November 2006 through February 2007.

“This will have a very serious impact on the rest of our budget year, ending Dec. 31,” said DeKalb County Engineer William Lorence.

The county’s budget for winter maintenance materials includes things such as salt, fuel and overtime for the workers.

Many towns and cities are going over budget because they did not have enough salt to get through the winter season.

“Overall, we have not [gone over budget], but we have with certain items such as salt,” said Fred Busse, Public Works director of Sycamore. “We are about 40 percent over the budget for salt.”

Genoa is in a similar situation.

“Last year we used 295 tons of salt,” said Rich Gentile, director of public works for Genoa. “This year we have used about 375 tons. That’s about a 27 percent increase.”

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