Roseville Public Works Department Facing Crucial Costs

While the main focus of recent city council debates has been cutting budgets and providing Roseville residents with quality city services despite fewer employees, Roseville's public works department is beginning to feel a cost crunch.

One example is the price of road salt, which is up 8 percent from last year. Maintenance crews applied almost all the salt Roseville purchased in 2010 during last winter’s 84.6 inches of snowfall.

That ranked as the fifth-snowiest winter on record, making the salt line-item a sure thing as the winter of 2011-2012 approaches. Duane Schwartz, Roseville public works director, told the council on Monday.

While road salt is a must-have in snowy Minnesota, Schwartz said the cost increase doesn’t reflect efforts to trim other public works department costs.

“The things that aren’t apparent in this budget is that we’re absorbing inflation,” he told council members. “There are similar impacts to that in other areas.”

Another upcoming need for Roseville’s public works department is an asset management software package. The software—which would allow the city to track its public works assets and forecast replacement needs—costs around $60,000.

The software package relates directly to a proposal made on Monday by council member Tammy McGhehee .

The 2012 budget deliberations hit a key milestone Sept. 12, when the council will vote on a not-to-exceed limit for the city’s 2012 tax levy. That levy, which totaled $14.7 million this year, is part of the total Roseville city budget of $39 million.