Dearth of Snow Means Roseville Snow Plow Budget Still Flush

As the Twin Cities moves into the last week of December, the region's dearth of  snowfall has been a boon for the city of Roseville's public works' snowplow budget.

"We have used less than 10 percent of our normal season's (budget for) snow salt and ice control products," said Duane Schwartz, Roseville director of public works.

Schwartz said Roseville in a typical year, the city has spent about half of its budget for ice control materials by sometime in January. The annual budget for road ice control materials is about $65,000, he said.

Through Dec. 23, the Twin Cities has only posted about five inches of snowfall. In contrast, the National Weather Service office reported that about 33 inches of snow fell during December, 2010 at its Chanhassan weather station.

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