Pocono News Section

Budget Cuts Not Hurting Snow Removal... Yet

Budget Cuts Not Hurting Snow Removal... Yet - Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 10:19PM EST

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY- Even though the city of Wilkes-Barre faces budget cuts, Mayor Tom Leighton says they'll never risk the safety of people who live here.

Friday's storm left several inches of snow. We asked people if they thought the roads were cleared well. Marcia Moore said, "I don't think they're really good. There's a lot of ice ruts."

Lovey Woronowicz of Kingston said, "When I first came out, I didn't think the roads were that great. But as I've been traveling throughout the day, they seem to be better."

Mayor Leighton told Eyewitness News, "I was out most of yesterday monitoring the streets. We had very few complaints."

Helen Jones said, “You know what, they weren't too bad. They did a pretty good job this year."

But can the city keep up with clearing the snow after the budget was cut? Mayor Leighton says yes. "We're struggling, as is every town across the commonwealth, but the roads will be cleared," he said.

He says the city saves big bucks when they don't need outside help. Mayor Leighton says only once did he call in private plowers -- the Valentine's Day storm in 2007. "That was just bad. We had like 18 inches with 6 inches of ice - so, we couldn't move we had to hire private contractors with heavy payloaders. We don't anticipate that happening in the near future with the storms that are forecasted," he added.

He says city crews will be out ahead of Sunday morning's storm -- and they're prepared for Christmas Eve's forecast as well. "The only concern I have is getting to work and appointments, and I think everyone is concerned about the roads," says Woronowicz.

But leighton says the city won't put saving money -- ahead of saving lives. “We will never scale back when we have a storm like yesterday, because of the safety of our residents and business. That's always our number one concern,"” he added.

If you compare this year's "snow removal" budget to 2009's, the city nearly doubled its budget for overtime pay for plowers -- from $25,000 to $45,000.