Flurry Of Storms Emptying Some LI Snow Removal Budgets
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The rough winter has already melted the snow removal budgets of some towns on Long Island.
Some municipalities are using alternate funds just six weeks into the new year.
As WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported, Brookhaven, Smithtown and Babylon have met or exceeded their snow removal budgets, encompassing plowing, sanding, salting and labor.
Hempstead is about 60 percent through its snow removal funds, due in part to some old-fashioned help.
"The Farmer's Almanac had predicted a very difficult winter and I think we have planned accordingly," Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray told Xirinachs.
There's still a lot of winter to go and many town officials are scrambling to find the funds needed to be able to respond to Mother Nature.
Some towns have dipped into contingency funds and reserve accounts to handle the snow removal.
"If we have to move dollars at the end of the winter to continue to keep our residents safe and our streets clear, so be it, we'll do it," Murray told Xirinachs. "We'll get through it. Our guys are all working very, very hard and our budget is working hard as well and we'll just keep looking at the bottom line."
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