EAST BRUNSWICK — Business Administrator James White said he was praying for no more snowstorms after the township spent $101,000 on the recent Winter Storm Juno — about one-third of the township’s annual snow budget.
“The council knows that we traditionally budget $300,000 a year. … So we will need to say some prayers tonight for no more snow events,” White said at the Feb. 2 Township Council meeting. “That gives you an idea of the amount of tons of salt that was put down and the materials and the labor involved.”
The 8-inch snowfall, which took place the evening of Jan. 26, led to the Township Council postponing its scheduled meeting until the following Monday.
“As I discussed with [the Public Works Department], we’re constantly in a balance,” White said. “They will be the first to tell you — and I will agree — that I’m never happy when they’re done, because if they spend too much money, I yell at them for spending money. And yet, if they don’t get it done fast enough, I say, ‘Well, why didn’t you get it done faster?’ ”
In a Feb. 9 interview, White said the township’s storm spending hasn’t been “too bad” as more ice and snow has hit the area since Juno.
“We already have the salt, so the guys working during the day — that’s all accounted for,” he said.
White said the township would try to be as judicious as possible in the months ahead.
“It’s a double-edged sword, because you have to get out there — it’s a public safety issue,” he said.