Money and supplies running low
How much snow will the Tri-States area have to remove this week? Forecasts called for six inches or more to hit us Monday night and Tuesday.
 / Courtesy of AP GraphicsBank
With so much snow in the forecast, local road crews are getting ready for a long night of salting and plowing the streets. But because we've already had several big snow and ice storms this winter, can cities pay for the extra supplies and manpower?
Quincy's central services started the year out with $75,000 for snow removal, but that budget has been dwindling with every snow storm. And tonight's snow is sure to pack a punch as well. Mike Beebe with Central Services says there is currently 800 ton of salt on hand, with an additional 1100 ton on its way.
"It's kind of a guessing game," Beebe said. "You look at the patterns over the last four or five years. We'll readjust next year's budget, and we will probably be increasing the salt line item some to prepare for a winter like this."
And the city of Hannibal's situation is much the same.
"For this year we're well over the amount that was allocated for a standard winter storm. We've all talked it over, and realize there's no way you can control it," said Hannibal Public Works director Jamie Page. "So here at the end we're just going to have to suck it up and see how we can address the storm cost."
Page says he's also ordering more salt today. That way if there's another storm this year, Hannibal will be ready. And if there's not, the supply can always be saved for next year.
Hannibal also has a new snow removal plan in place. The city now has a written checklist and time line for when to call in contractors to help remove snow. Other city workers will also help with plowing.
"We're prepared now for when to call them. And we'll also be utilizing our parks department, so they'll be running snow plows too," Page said.
Page says having this new plan in place should make removing snow from this storm a much smoother and simpler process.