Snow removal hammers Philadelphia budget
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
After several years of minimal snow removal costs, this year's expenses are hammering the city budget.
The quarterly city manager's report estimates this years snow removal costs at $11.5 million.That's almost a third of the city's overall street budget.
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Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says the city is going to have to make budget adjustments to deal with the additional costs.
Nutter: It could not come at a worse time even if we had a lot of money, nearly 45 inches of snow in a five day period of time is never particularly convenient, but given our fiscal distress already, having these type of storms back to back to back –almost — is particularly challenging for the current fiscal year and presents challenges quite honestly that will roll into the next fiscal year.
Officials say the city will continue to remove snow, and worry about the costs later. City Councilman Jim Kenney says if the city didn't do the snow removal, it could have been the end of many businesses throughout the city. Philadelphia will also be applying for federal aid to help with the costs.