HOLLAND, Mich. — The Ottawa County Road Commission exceeded its $3 million winter maintenance budget by about $1.1 million after a harsh season of frigid temperatures and icy roads.
The commission logged about 13,500 hours of overtime and used 23,000 tons of salt to combat the winter weather.
"A lot of call outs and events for our crews to go and tackle. Lot of time on the road, a lot of overtime, lot of usage of salt and materials, which all adds up," said Ottawa County Road Commission Communications Administrator Alex Doty.
The commission also removes snow for the Michigan Department of Transportation on state systems.
"Removing snow on roads like I-96, US 31, etc. The budget for this year for MDOT winter maintenance was $1.5M, and as of my most recent update from earlier this month, the actual expense was about $1.9M," Doty said.
MDOT reimburses the commission for expenses on the state system, making them whole for whatever is spent on those routes, even if it goes over budget.
"Our funding come primarily from fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, and so that all comes into a big pot that we have divvied up to all of our different functions," explained Doty.
Doty said contingency and buffer funds mean the commission should be in good shape despite the overage.
"Dealing with winter in Michigan and trying to prepare a budget for it, you just hope you guess right and estimate right based on past experiences," Doty said. "I think there was a couple winters here and there where it was pretty busy, but this just certainly seems to rank up there with one of the busier ones for us."
The recent sunshine brought neighbors, like Hope College seniors Kennedi Pochamara and Mya Spisz, to downtown Holland on Friday, a stark contrast to the winter storms just weeks ago.
"I would say, this winter had us a little bit seasonally depressed. We had to be inside a lot," Pochamara said. "[The overage] honestly makes sense. I feel like everywhere I was driving, salt trucks were out, people were plowing."
"I would agree with that, because I think the weather would just get worse throughout the day. So then there's constant trips that need to be happening throughout the day to make sure the roads are fine," added Spisz. "I also work in the Wyoming area at a hospital, so the early morning drives with the storms was a little rough. But, yeah, it was a lot of back and forth with the weather."
The colder weather was a bit of a shock to the system for Holland neighbor Brendan R., who moved to the area last summer from the east side of the state.
"Our winters are not nearly as harsh as the west side of the state, so it definitely was a different adjustment for me. I mean, snow blowing in your face consistently. I mean, frigid temperatures, ice all over the ground," said Brendan.
Brendan, however, is making the most out of the warm weather.
"I'm out here and I'm enjoying myself. I'm doing a little drinking out here in the social district. If you guys haven't been to Holland, come on down. It's great," Brendan said. "There's a lot of, tons of cool shops. The atmosphere is great, and people are amazing."
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