By Brett Buccheri
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore County has spent an estimated $11 million to remove more than 30 inches of snow so far this winter – almost twice the amount of money originally budgeted, according to the county’s public works website.
Of that figure, $9.2 million was spent on labor, including contractors, while the rest was for road treatment and other essentials.
Winter Storm Jonas, which dropped about two feet of snow throughout the region in late January, accounted for $9.4 million, the Public Works Department has reported. The county had budgeted $6 million for snow removal in the current fiscal year.
Ellen Kobler, a spokesperson for Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, said that during the height of Jonas, the county had 700 personnel operating 550 trucks and equipment. Despite the massive costs, Kobler said, the snow budget isn’t all that important on paper.
“It’s mainly just a place holder figure,” Kobler said. “It tends to be in the ballpark of what is needed.”
Kobler said that when the budget runs out, there is a standard operating procedure that is carried out to ensure that money is available should another storm hit the region.
“If we need more [money], we perform a routine budget transfer from our designated surplus,” she said. “It does not affect the other budgets we have.”
Kobler said the county is ready and prepared to tackle another storm if it comes.
“One thing we did this winter was increase the amount of salt we have from 50,000 tons to 80,000 tons,” she said.
The county used slightly more than 21,000 tons of salt at a cost of $1.2 million during Jonas, according to the public works website. Kobler said that salt has since been replenished.
The state of Maryland has done better than Baltimore County in reducing the amount of salt that is used in the storms.
Charlie Gischlar, a spokesperson for the state Highway Administration, said the state only used 18,260 tons of salt for Jonas because of its salt reduction initiative.
Instead of using hard rock salt, he said, the state has opted for a salt-brine solution, which is 27 percent salt and 73 percent water. When conditions are favorable, the state opts for the brine instead of rock salt.
Gischlar also said the state treats the salt with liquid magnesium, which helps treat the roads when the temperatures get below 20 degrees.
“We’re always trying to find ways to save money and think of what is good for the environment,” Gischlar said. “The goal is to not affect everyone’s pocketbook.”
He said the state will be prepared if more snow hits the region. The highway administration has an aggressive team that monitors forecasts and holds regular conference calls with the weather service, he said.
“March could come in like a lion,” Gischlar said. “But we don’t know what will happen. We’ll be prepared for one inch or 24 inches.”
The snow has also been a concern for the Baltimore County public school system.
According to Mychael Dickerson, chief communications officer for Baltimore County schools, there were seven snow days built into this school year. All of those have been used.
Despite that, Dickerson said the school system is still on track to finish the academic year on time due to the buffer the county put in the scheduling. The state of Maryland requires 180 instructional days, but Baltimore County scheduled for 191, he said.
“We don’t need to make up any days at this point, but we’re obviously not done with the inclement weather just yet,” Dickerson said.