Appleton, WI (WTAQ) – It’s been one of the wettest Decembers for Northeast Wisconsin but almost none of it has frozen.
Randy Roloff work for county highway department and says there’s about eight million pounds of salt are stored in one of the four sheds for Outagamie County.
The lack of snow has been beneficial for the county financially.
“Mother nature is helping us balance our spending priorities,” said Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
Nelson says about $1.2 million is spend on snow removal each budget year.
Since these trucks aren’t plowing and salting, Nelson says the highway department could save up to $200,000 by the end of 2015.
“It also allows us to borrow less because we’re simply going to have money left in our cash reserves,” Nelson said.
Despite the possible savings, there could be a downside if a majority of this salt doesn’t end up on the roads.
“The salt we procured for this winter, we have to take delivery out or pay a fee to leave it on the dock,” Roloff said.
The county could also store some of the remaining salt at the highway department which is responsible for taking care of more than 800 miles of road during a snow storm.
