Woonsocket Faces Snow Plow Shortage

- The city's five-year Capital Improvement Program for fiscal years 2022-2026 allocated funds for the replacement of two Ford F-350 trucks with plows and one International 7400 series truck for the highway department, highlighting a planned effort to update its fleet. - The adopted municipal budget for fiscal year 2026 was approved with a 5.5% tax levy increase to address structural shortfalls and boost contingency funds, which could be used to cover unexpected costs like the increased reliance on private snow removal contractors. - This winter has been particularly costly for snow removal across Southern New England, with several municipalities reporting that they have already exceeded their snow removal budgets for the season. For example, nearby Cranston exhausted its $700,000 budget and has spent over $1 million, while Fall River is more than $330,000 over its $526,000 budget. - The financial strain on municipal snow removal budgets is exacerbated by the rising costs of salt, with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation having already spent $9.1 million on salt this winter, a significant increase from the $7.3 million spent in the previous, milder winter. - The estimated economic loss from a recent major blizzard in the Northeast is between $34 billion and $38 billion, a figure that includes disruptions to commerce and supply chains, which directly affects local Woonsocket businesses. - Woonsocket's Public Works department, headed by Director Steven P. D'Agostino, is responsible for snow and ice control, and has had to manage these challenges with a highway department that, as of 2015, was half the size it was in the winter of 2010-2011. - The city has a formal process for engaging private contractors for snow removal, with the Director of Public Works authorized to approve methods and interpret contract specifications to ensure the work meets city standards.