Lower snowfall could mean budget surpluses

It finally feels like winter in Bend, but overall, it’s still been a fairly dry season, especially compared to last year.

For the city of Bend and the Oregon Department of Transportation, it looks like there might be some money left over in their budget after the winter, if it continues to be mild, in terms of snowfall. The city of Bend has not spent nearly as much time plowing this winter as last — so far, with a budget over $400,000 more than last year, the city has spent only 50 to 60 percent of it.

Compare that to last year, when the streets and operations department had to dip into reserves. While they’re not counting on it, the streets and operations manager says he is hopeful there’ll be a surplus once spring comes.

“If we do end up with savings after this winter, it ends up in our streets and operations budget,” Manager David Abbas said Tuesday. “We can leave that in the winter operations budget, or we have the ability to put that toward some of our other programs: street preservation, landscaping, ADA concrete, some of those other programs.”

The city has some big projects coming up for the summer, and another perk of nice winter weather is that crews have had a chance to take care of some other projects that would’ve created even more work in the summertime.

ODOT is also hoping to have some money left over after the snow season. Last year, ODOT spent more than $4.5 million on winter operations — this winter, that figure so far is under $2 million.

“There can be some surplus left over from winter, if we don’t have to buy all we thought we were going to buy,” ODOT Region 4 spokesman Peter Murphy said.

Those things would include de-icer and cinders, for example.

With that potential surplus, ODOT has some ideas about where to put the money.

“We allocate that to things as mundane as potholes or fixing guardrails or doing minor paving changes, because while those things may be small, they take up a big number because of the supplies that we have to buy, and they’re important for motorists out there on the highway,” Murphy said.