As snowfalls rise, village budgets drop

Winter’s blast of snow and ice storms has Five Towns villages spending at increasing rates and making sure salt reserves don’t disappear.
In Cedarhurst, $60,000 has been earmarked for snow removal this winter. As of the Feb. 5 storm, Mayor Andrew Parise said the village has spent $40,000 and are currently out of salt for de-icing town roads. “We will probably spend more or possibly less depending on overtime,” Parise said. “You have to plow the streets and you can’t tell the people that you have no money. We are on the phone now, trying to get more salt here to us as soon as possible.”
Due to the amount of road cleaning municipalities have had to do because of this winter’s storms, there is now a salt shortage on Long Island.
Atlantic Beach Mayor Stephen Mahler said the village annually budgets $22,000 for snow removal. Mahler said Atlantic Beach is well within its budget this year. “We have a lot of surplus salt stockpiled,” Mahler said. “We have supplies. The snow is not a tremendous budgetary burden on us. We are financially solvent. We don’t believe in a lot of big salting anyway, and we stockpile our salt from what’s leftover from previous years.”
The Village of Lawrence has budgeted $50,000 for this year for snow clean up. “We are still well within our budget,” said Mayor Martin Oliner. “We’re doing just great. Our salt supply is fine. We stockpile ours every year.”
Snow removal budgets for Hewlett Bay Park and Woodmere are covered through line items, instead of a designated amount of money, according to Village Clerk Michelle Blandino. “Our snow removal budget covers materials and contracts for the employees who take care of it,” Blandino said. “We have $12,000 for Hewlett Bay Park and $3,000 for Woodsburgh. We exceeded Woodsburgh’s budget, but because the snow removal budget is actually a line item, we can move money from other categories. We’re good until Feb. 28, as both budgets get renewed March 1. New budgets begin then.” Both villages have plenty of salt “to get through the next two storms for both communities,” Blandino said.