SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - One after another cities along the Wasatch front have been pounded by big storms dropping several inches of wet, heavy snow. The unexpected snowfall is making it difficult for cities to keep within their set snow removal budget.
Rick Graham, Salt Lake City's Director of Public Services said, "We have over spent our salt budget already, but we're still putting salt on the roads and finding other line items to get the money."
Salt Lake City isn't the only municipality that's in the red when it comes to snow removal. The city of Sandy had $115,000 budgeted for this year and just had to go back to the city council to ask for another $70,000.
Sandy's Public Information officer Nicole Martin said, "Obviously mother nature decides whether we're on target and that changes depending on the number of storms, the severity of those storms and certainly the fluctuation in temperatures that may require more salt throughout the day."
West Valley City is also in the red. The city's spokesperson, Aaron Crim said, "$100,000 for salt, $50,000 for overtime and as of today, during this storm, we have spent every cent of both those budgets."
Rather than going back and asking the council for more money, West Valley is pulling it from other places where there is a surplus. If that money runs out future projects could be put on hold.
"if we continue on this path," explained Crim, "they'll just find money other places that will come out of future projects."
While it may be a squeeze to find extra funding, every city we spoke with said plowing and salting will get done no matter what.
"It's a challenge but it's what we have to do," said Graham.
