02/14/14 The cost of snow removal has hit the Marshall County Highway Department hard.
During Monday’s County Council meeting, Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck said his employees have been “over worked and stressed.” He explained that plow drivers have been out almost every day for the last month taking care of snow on county roadways.
The over-time line items in the various highway budgets are in the red because of all the hours it’s taken to clear the roads. The original appropriations were $50,000 in the Highway Maintenance & Repair Budget and $7,000 in the Highway’s General Budget.
This week Haeck asked for and was granted two additional appropriations to cover his overtime. $60,000 will be placed in the Highway Department’s over-time line item in the Maintenance& Repair Budget and $8,000 in the Highway Department’s General Fund’s over-time line item.
The County Council also approved transfers of $60,000 from the Highway Department’s Stone/Gravel/Aggregates, $8,000 from the Highway’s equipment fund and $4,000 from the Cum Bridge fund’s Stone/Gravel/Aggregates line item all for over-time.
Salt has been in short supply so 500 tons of a mixture of sand and liquid boost was delivered last week and he expects to get another 300 ton next week.
Haeck has been working with County EMA Director Clyde Avery on tracking over-time pay, material costs and equipment use for a possible reimbursement from FEMA if the district could meet the threshold. All department heads throughout the county, city, towns, and schools are urged to track their additional expenses and report them to the County EMA Director.
