December snowstorm cost North Jersey towns $6M
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Last updated: Sunday January 23, 2011, 9:48 AM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
The Record
STAFF WRITER
The post-Christmas blizzard that covered the region in as much as 2 feet of snow also dumped a $6 million cleanup bill on North Jersey's towns and counties, according to cost estimates compiled by The Record.
The bills for salt, plows, emergency responders and repair work during the Dec. 26-27 storm ranged from $210,000 in Teaneck and $280,000 in West Milford to $12,000 in Leonia and $20,000 in Bloomingdale, according to preliminary estimates.
Local and county officials in Bergen and Passaic laid out the storm-related expenses in recently submitted applications for federal disaster aid. The total spent in both counties comes to slightly more than $6 million.Clearing the roads
Days after the storm, Governor Christie asked President Obama to declare a disaster in 13 counties, including Bergen and Passaic, a move that may allow towns to receive partial reimbursement for storm-related expenditures.
Sgt. Barry Leventhal, a deputy coordinator for Bergen County's Office of Emergency Management, said his office is "very optimistic" federal officials will grant the declaration, "based on our initial contact with FEMA."
That could come as good news to local officials, many of whom said the blizzard depleted their 2010 snow removal budgets.
"This storm had a pretty big impact on us," said Stephen Lo Iacono, the city manager in Hackensack.
The city spent an estimated $180,000 on the blizzard — and combined with the cost of the big snowstorm in February — exceeded its 2010 snow removal budget. Lo Iacono said he had to transfer money from other accounts that had a surplus.
"If we didn't have to transfer those funds to snow accounts, it would have gone into surplus, which can be used to reduce taxation," Lo Iacono said.
Hackensack and about 80 other towns and organizations in Bergen and Passaic counties filled out so-called preliminary damage assessment estimates in the week after the storm. The forms are used by FEMA to review the impact of potential disasters. The amounts requested by towns vary widely, as do the type of expenditures listed.
Some examples: Clifton paid $20,000 to fix 10 manholes damaged in the storm; Northvale paid $3,000 to repair plows; Lodi paid $12,000 in overtime for public works employees; and Englewood paid $12,456 for 200 tons of salt.
Some private organizations that have traditionally been eligible because they provide emergency services, such as Preakness Healthcare Center in Wayne, also submitted requests.
The estimates will be compiled for all 13 counties and sent to federal emergency management officials. Leventhal said that if a disaster is declared, applicants can expect to get up to 75 percent of their submitted eligible costs.
Paramus' $90,000 storm cleanup bill forced the borough to exceed its 2010 snow removal budget, too, said Administrator Joseph D'Arco. He did not immediately know by how much or where the money would come from. But that was secondary, he said, to keeping the public safe.
"Cost is always part of the equation, but when you're in a state of emergency, you do what you have to do to protect the public."
He said the borough "attacked the storm," keeping Paramus "in good shape compared to most cities and towns."
"We ran around the clock. Every piece of equipment the borough had was in operation. The fleet maintenance crew, including mechanics, worked all night," D'Arco said.
Teaneck spent by far the most of any municipality in Bergen County — more than $210,000 — or more than four times the average spent by municipalities in Bergen.
Township Manager William Broughton said the estimate "involved costs for police overtime, fire department overtime, DPW overtime, contractors for snow removal … that's the entire cost to the township over all departments. I don't know if every town did that."
He praised employees and contractors for their response to the storm and said "we got so many outstanding compliments from residents" after the December blizzard.
This winter's string of storms, Broughton said, is "certainly putting a strain on our budget." Teaneck several years ago developed a trust fund for snow removal, he said.
"We do have some money in that account that we can draw from," he said. "But if that were to get drawn down, we'd have a problem."
What snow removal cost North Jersey towns after the blizzard of Dec. 26-27:
Bergen County
Allendale $47,548
Alpine $13,491
Bergenfield $36,750
Bogota $29,630
Carlstadt $39,378
Cliffside Park $83,000
Closter $52,170
Cresskill $40,438
Demarest $9,745
Dumont $30,000
East Rutherford $70,159
Edgewater $51,568
Elmwood Park $38,000
Emerson $32,392
Englewood $28,487
Englewood Cliffs $23,981
Fair Lawn $68,357
Fairview $20,000
Fort Lee $78,000
Franklin Lakes $79,922
Glen Rock $60,577
Hackensack $180,000
Hasbrouck Heights $78,031
Haworth $28,715
Hillsdale $75,500
Leonia $12,008
Little Ferry $20,000
Lodi $55,659
Lyndhurst $48,629
Mahwah $85,195
Midland Park $18,441
Montvale $79,800
Moonachie $13,155
New Milford $45,434
North Arlington $33,000
Northvale $14,634
Norwood $9,898
Oakland $80,202
Old Tappan $65,000
Palisades Park $133,629
Paramus $100,000
Park Ridge $20,000
Ramsey $30,000
Ridgefield $47,000
Ridgefield Park $85,442
Ridgewood $91,846
River Edge $23,407
River Vale $38,561
Rochelle Park $8,644
Rockleigh $2,160
Rutherford $56,914
Saddle Brook $15,000
South Hackensack $31,002
Teaneck $210,708
Tenafly n/a
Upper Saddle River $49,593
Waldwick $63,000
Wallington $37,029
Washington Twp. $22,961
Westwood $26,539
Woodcliff Lake $37,952
Wood-Ridge $167,000
Wyckoff $82,000
Passaic County
Bloomingdale $20,000
City of Passaic $172,000
Clifton $136,000
Haledon $28,750
Hawthorne $29,250
Little Falls $32,953
North Haledon $34,847
Paterson $214,193
Pompton Lakes $47,256
Prospect Park $19,204
Ringwood $73,680
Totowa $60,800
Wanaque $30,161
Wayne $138,774
West Milford $280,578
Woodland Park $58,000
Note: Costs are preliminary estimates and subject to change.
Sources: Bergen and Passaic county emergency management departments
E-mail: boburg@northjersey.com