"We're almost 40 square miles. We've got almost 600 lane miles we're responsible for and that's alot of miles that have to be plowed," said township business administrator John Ricci.
Ricci says the cost of personnel working overtime to plow, the supplies like salt and brine, and the additional contractors to plow all those roads adds up. Just for kicks, we asked some Hamilton Township residents if they had any idea what it cost to plow in Hamilton this winter.
"400,000? 600,000? A million?" Rocco DeAngelo asked when we told him how much it actually cost. "Are you kidding me?"
"Oh my God," said Marie Rose. "I didn't want to say that much. That's what it was, huh?"
"That's a lot of money," said Corey Moser. "I didn't think it was that much."
Towns like Hamilton are hoping the arrival of spring means the end to snow this year. But they also know that in years past big storms have come after the first day of spring – even as late as April.
Ricci says Hamilton has had to cut elsewhere in its budget to cover the snow bill. And there is hope that FEMA will reimburse for some of the cost of that big Christmas storm.
In the meantime, like many towns, Hamilton's finance team is hoping those spring flowers mean no more plowers - because it's a lot cheaper when there's no snow!
