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With a new brine truck, Department of Public Works Commissioner Victor Carosi is hoping to keep the roads clear throughout a snow storm instead of scrambling to plow for cleanup afterwards. The truck would lay the salt and brine mixture on roads before the snow arrives, which could not only accelerate cleanup but would also save manpower and decrease the risk of injuries.
"It means a proactive approach to snow removal," Carosi said. "Rather than reacting after the snow comes, we can now try to get ahead of the game."
The department bought the truck in 2010 for $200,000 and an additional $22,000 was put in this year to add the anti-icing equipment. But Gerard Tenner, the motor equipment service foreman, said the vehicle would pay for itself in less than two years by reducing workers' overtime hours.
According to Carosi, up to $20,000 could be saved for each snow fall in what would usually require 30 workers to plow roads. The budget allocated $200,000 to overtime hours in the Highway Department both this year and for 2013.
"We spent some money and we're still learning," said Tenner on money-saving technology for the department. "We're trying to help the people here."
According to last year's budget, only $278,097 was spent on snow removal in the Highway Department. That's about a third of what the department spends on a "normal" Greenburgh winter — last year's warm weather saved the department almost $700,000 more than the year before.
But with weather organizations predicting a colder winter than last year, the department is expecting to make more use of the $891,000 allocated for snow removal this year.
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