Greenwich BET Budget Committee approves $1.325 million interim appropriation for snow and ice control

The BET Budget Committee of the Town of Greenwich voted 4-0 to approve a combined interim appropriation (PW4 and PS1) totaling $1.325 million to cover this winter’s snow-and-ice expenses, including overtime, salt and equipment rental. The committee recorded the parking fund’s share as $130,000 and the remainder from the general fund for Department of Public Works (DPW) and fleet accounts.

Commissioner Jim Michael of the Department of Public Works, who presented the request, said the town experienced roughly double its normal snowfall this season and an extended freeze-thaw cycle that required additional overnight removal and cleanup. “We’ve had more than twice our normal average… we normally budget for around 30 inches of snow a year,” he said, explaining the request covers overtime, materials and one-time equipment rentals needed to restore operations to budget-neutral levels.

Why it matters: The appropriation restores DPW and fleet budgets depleted by repeated storms and ensures salt sheds are replenished before next winter’s procurement-price increases. Presenters told the committee they sought to place material orders before a July 1 contract price increase and estimated the parking-lot portion of salt use at roughly 15% of annual consumption.

Committee members pressed staff on several specifics before the vote. A member asked whether the railroad-station lots are state- or town-owned; staff said many lots are state-owned, some are town-owned, and reimbursements from the state railroad fund are handled through the state process. Committee members also questioned rounding in spreadsheet figures and one-time equipment rental costs; staff explained some interim-request line items were rounded down and that the rental expense covered extra pieces needed for overnight operations.

On workforce costs, Mr. Kelly asked whether employees are required to work holidays and whether overtime has affected morale. Staff replied that holiday work is “highly recommended,” that overtime has provided a helpful boost to paychecks for some employees, but that repeated storms have worn on crews.

Parking-fund allocation: Staff said they tracked time spent by DPW staff clearing parking lots and estimated roughly $90,000 of overtime attributable to parking-lot operations. Salt-use estimates for parking lots ranged from about $80,000 to $130,000, depending on the calculation method; staff cited 15% of total annual salt use as their working estimate for parking lots. Committee members asked that parking services be given an opportunity to review and opine on any transfer from the parking fund before the appropriation would be considered routine in future.

Vote and next steps: The committee amended the motion to include both PW4 and PS1 (to capture DPW and parking-service line items) and voted 4-0 to approve the combined interim appropriation. Committee members asked staff and parking services to refine the parking-fund allocation and to confirm whether any additional interim request would be needed if March storms materialize; staff indicated the current figures include a modest March contingency and they hope no further interim will be required.

The committee’s approval restores budget capacity for DPW and fleet operations and authorizes the purchases and rentals described; parking services will be asked to provide input on the parking fund portion before any change to routine practice is adopted.