Mild winter good for county finances
BY MARY PERHAM THE LEADER.

BATH - The unusually mild winter could save Steuben County roughly $250,000 in road salt and sand this year.

So far, the snow-free winter roads mean county stockpiles stored in sheds last fall are still full, said Steuben County Public Works Commissioner Vincent Spagnoletti.

But the county must still buy a portion of the 27,500 tons of salt it originally ordered from suppliers under state bid, Spagnoletti told the county Legislature's Public Works Committee last week.

"It's not a big problem, it's not lost money," Spagnoletti said, adding unused road salt will be used next year. The current cost of the salt is $25.41 per ton.

County Legislature Public Works Committee Chairman Robert Nichols, R-Tuscarora, said the mild winter could mean other savings for the county.

"If this goes on, there will be a savings in overtime expenses … we'll save on wear and tear in the equipment, fuel costs, that's a big one," Nichols said. "This could bring a substantial savings to the county."

Spagnoletti said it is impossible to estimate savings in labor and equipment this early in the winter.

But with the salt already in storage, and a contract for 19,000 tons more, Steuben isn't likely to need more road salt later this year, he said.

Based on costs during the mild weather last November and December, Steuben could end up saving $250,000 in salt in 2007, according to Spagnoletti.

The mild winter means nearly every county in the state has a healthy stockpile of salt, but also has an obligation to buy more this year under state contract.

Murl Sebring, Chemung County interim Public Works commissioner, said state contracts guarantee suppliers a minimum purchase in the event of a mild winter.

The contracts also guarantee counties and municipalities more salt if a winter is unusually harsh, he said.

"I'm sure if this (weather) continues, there will be some kind of negotiations by the state as to the outcome, in honoring the contracts," Sebring said. "It's not a critical issue, yet."

According to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, the long-range

forecast for January is for above-average temperatures a n d n e a r-normal precipitation.

The expected precipitation could be either rain or snow, said meteorologist Brian Lovejoy.

Although the February prediction is not as certain, Lovejoy said next month's

forecast also calls for aboveaverage temperatures and normal precipitation.

But local public works officials aren't taking any chances.

"I'd like to think it would be this way the rest of the winter," Sebring said. "But this isn't my first winter in the Southern Tier. I know better."