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Residents criticize Salina snow removal and ask for sales-tax relief; commission orders after-action review
Summary
Following a heavy snowstorm, the Salina City Commission praised city staff, ordered an after-action review and received public complaints about plowing priorities, curb snow piles and continued city/county sales tax on groceries despite a state reduction.
The Salina City Commission said city employees from police, fire, streets, utilities and parks worked through a recent storm and directed staff to conduct an after-action review and to meet with the school district to assess coordination.
Why it matters: residents told commissioners inconsistent plowing and leftover curb piles created traffic and driveway access problems, and one commenter urged the city and county to follow the state in reducing sales tax on groceries.
Commissioners thanked city staff for their response to the storm and announced the city will perform a formal after-action review of operations and outreach. A commissioner said the city had reached out to the school district and would sit down with district staff to review performance during the storm.
Public comments at the Jan. 13 meeting included multiple residents who criticized the pace and prioritization of plowing and other storm responses. Ben Winholz, a Salina resident, said posted plowing schedules promised residential streets would be plowed twice in each direction and additional plowing would begin Jan. 10, but he said he did not observe trucks on several main streets between Tuesday and Thursday and questioned why crews appeared to be clearing secondary entrances at the municipal golf course before some main thoroughfares. Winholz also raised taxation concerns, saying the state had lowered its sales tax on food to 0% but "we are still paying Saline County and citizens of Saline are still paying 2.75% sales tax" and urged the commission to consider relief for residents.
Another resident, Bernard Baker, said some plows left large piles of snow three feet from curbs that made driveway access hazardous. A separate commenter questioned equipment operators’ training and urged the city to hire qualified operators or provide training.
The commission did not vote on changing plowing protocols or on the sales-tax issue during the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to carry out the after-action review and to report back with findings and any recommended operational changes.
Ending: The sales-tax concern raised by speakers was not acted upon at Jan. 13; any change to city or county sales taxes would require separate policy action and, if applicable, state or county-level compliance steps.
