Mild Winter Might Have Saved Geneva $200K in Rock Salt and OT

The recent mild winter was the universe’s gift to us winter-weary Midwesterners, and it was a boon to Geneva’s city coffers. The city is on pace to save at least $200,000 in rock salt and overtime expenses in its current fiscal year, which ends April 30.

Last fiscal year—May 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011—the city spent $485,000 on materials and overtime. Some of those expenses were spent on clearing the Feb. 1-2, 2011, blizzard that dumped 20.2 inches of snow on the area. Dan Dinges, director of public works, estimates the current costs may total $285,000, leaving the city in good shape for whatever Mother Nature throws at it next winter.

Because of the low snowfall amounts this winter, the city‘s salt shed is full, and the city has reduced its order for next year’s salt supply to 1,500 tons, 32 percent less than this year’s order of 2,200 tons, Dinges said.

At this fiscal year price of $59.87 per ton, the 2,200 tons cost $131,714. The price for the 1,500 tons will be set in August but, by contract, the price can not go up more than 5 percent because the city buys its salt in bulk through the Illinois Department of Central Management Services joint purchasing program.

Fiscal Year

Snow Amount

Salt Used, in Tons

2011-12

21.75 inches

1,258

2010-11

54.5 inches

2,200

2009-10

46.25 inches

2,069

Geneva is enjoying its largess because of record-breaking weather the area has experienced this winter, capping off with the warmest March in Illinois history.

When temperatures hit 81 on March 14, it was the earliest occurrence of 80-degree temperatures in the 135 years since area weather history has been recorded, said Ed Fenelon, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, Chicago office.

March 20’s high temperature of 85 degrees combined with the low of 63 is the kind of weather that is normal for the Fourth of July, Fenelon said. In all, March had eight days of temperatures 80 degrees or higher.