PORT ANGELES — Budget cuts could lead to more icy county roads in Clallam County on weekends and holidays, County Engineer Ross Tyler reported Monday as he proposed cutting back on snow plowing.
In a briefing to county commissioners, Tyler said the current fiscal crunch will force his department to cut overtime costs.
Cutting overtime for road crews would save the county about $150,000 per year.
Tyler’s proposal concentrates plowing, sanding and winter storm debris removal to schools days to maintain the best possible coverage for school buses and most commuters.
“We’re kind of rolling the dice here,” Tyler said of the proposal, which commissioners are expected to consider for a vote later this year.
“Most of the time, people at least on the weekends have a better opportunity to make choices as long as they are informed.”
County crews plow the main arterials, such as Old Olympic Highway, and work their way to more remote areas as time resources allow.
Tyler’s proposal comes after years of belt tightening in the road department, he said.
The county has already scaled back on road resurfacing and roadside mowing.
This year, the county reduced its striping program and plans to continue to cut back on re-painting.
“We’ve pretty much cut everything that we were able to cut,” Tyler told commissioners.
Tyler said overtime is the last “big dollar item” on the table.
“We typically hold overtime very low during the summer months,” he said.
“We try not to use it, and we throw it at the wintertime.”
Future budget forecasts show significant reductions in state and federal grants for road projects, Tyler said.
Gas tax revenue is also on the decline, he added.
County taxpayers will pay $40,000 this year for road signs that were either stolen or vandalized.
Commissioner Mike Doherty asked Tyler if alternatives were considered before making his proposal.
“We could cut back some more on our chip seal program and save money there, but we’re already behind the eight-ball on that one,” Tyler said.
“We’re not keeping up [on maintenance] and our roads are going to go south on us.”
It costs about $30,000 per mile to put chip seal on a road, Tyler said.
“Once you get to the point where maintenance goes too far down, then it’s way more expensive,” Tyler said.
The three commissioners directed Tyler to take his proposal to the public, talking about it to news media and service clubs before the commissioners vote on it.
The issue probably will come up for a vote when commissioners consider approval of the 2012 budget on Dec. 6.
County Administrator Jim Jones said it is “almost a universal practice in other counties in the state” to not plow roads on weekends, holidays and after hours.
There will be some leeway for overtime in cases of bad storms.
Road crews that work from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. will stay to sand roads to school routes before the afternoon runs.
“Later commuters will need to drive with due caution and can benefit by reductions in speed, and knowing that heavier concentrations of sand are likely located slightly to either side of the main wheel tracks,” Tyler wrote in a letter to commissioners outlining his proposal.
With advance notice of a big storm, county crews will take their plows home to get a jump on the work,” Jones said.
“If we get a bad enough storm on a weekend, and I don’t feel like we’re going to be able to hit it early enough on Monday to get the school routes open, I will ask the crews to come down Sunday or whatever is necessary,” Tyler said.
Tyler’s letter concludes:
“I am distressed in having to propose these measures, however if future economic predictions are correct, these are the parameters than now shape our ability to operate within our means,” Tyler said.
“This is a financially difficult time for people. They simply do not have the income available to cover the costs associated with anything more than basic services.
“We do not expect any monumental source of revenue to appear, and we cannot ask the public for any increase in revenue.
“Therefore, not only we, but all must do the best that we are able with the resources provided.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
