Mild winter saves money but only for some counties

By WEI YU
Capital News Service
LANSING – If this mild winter continues into April, the Lenawee County Road Commission will definitely be a winner, but the situation isn’t as rosy in St. Joseph County. Lenawee County has spent only about $220,000 of its $900,000 winter maintenance budget since the beginning of 2012, according to Jason Schnaidt, its operations manager. “We are not buying salt, which is a big saving. Fuel usage has decreased because of less use of the big trucks.”
However, staff is about the same as last winter and, employees keep busy doing such things as filling pothole and clearing brush, he said.