Hello Spring! Mild Winter Brings Savings to Township

As Spring arrives, officials can count the blessings of a mild winter.

Despite the rare October snowstorm of 2011, which downed trees and power lines and prolonged the township's leaf collection, the township was able to save money in salt purchases and overtime costs so far this year.

According to information provided by Finance Director Linda Perry, at the end of 2011, South Whitehall had:

* 808 tons of salt on hand ($49,458 worth of material).

* $5,613 left in its salt budget.

* $23,790 left in its overtime budget for snow and ice removal. (The township used $13,000 of that to pay crews who worked overtime to pick up leaves and debris in the weeks after the October storm.)

And by winter's end on Monday, Perry said, South Whitehall had:

* 1,200 tons of salt on hand ($73,452 worth of material).

* $121,731 left in its salt budget.

* $45,513 left in its overtime budget for snow and ice removal.

All that puts South Whitehall in a good position for the start of next winter. 

South Whitehall Public Works Director Tony Ganguzza said the township still needs to purchase several tons of salt by June to meet its minimum contract obligation with its salt supplier or pay a penalty. But, he said, the township should have enough storage room available to buy more salt by June and meet its minimum obligation.

Spring, meanwhile, arrived at 1:14 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the National Weather Services, temperatures will reach 72 degrees today.