Winter may have seemed awful this year, but the Department of Public Works was well-prepared, says its director Tom Thurkettle.
“Normally what we do is ask for a certain amount. This year between the overtime budget and snow budget our budget was somewhere around $410,000, and we’ve almost spent it all,” he said.
“We’ll probably be OK unless we have another major storm, and that’s not unusual here. We’ve been here for 35 years and had them as late as April 19. When it’s dumping eight inches, even if it’s gone in three days, you’re still out there moving it out of the way for emergency vehicles and anyone else who wants to drive in the snow.”
The budget was slightly higher than last winter, he said, because salaries rose about 2%.
“Last year we gave money back. If we don’t spend it, any left over money goes back to the town. In all the time I’ve been here, there’s only been two years out of all the years where we really, really went over the budget.”