Township: 'Freak' Snowstorms Don't Come Often

Despite an unusual year that brought both a tropical storm and a snowstorm in October, officials say Bridgewater is in fine shape with equipment and materials to deal with a hopefully normal 2012.

According to township adminstrator Robert Bogart, 2011 was unusual in its number of snowstorms, plus the two freak storms in the latter half of the year. And the township can never predict that that will happen, he said.

" and an October snowstorm don't come along every year, and we normally wouldn't budget for something like that," he said. "With these lean years, we are unlikely to budget for one coming up because we would not anticipate it."

And for that reason, Bogart said, the township had to move forward with to pay for clean up—those costs will be paid for probably in the 2012 budget.

"But these are once-in-a-lifetime events, at least since our records were started," he said. "The probability of them happening again is remote."

Bridgewater Township Mayor Patricia Flannery said there is still a hope of reimbursement from FEMA for costs associated with both Irene and the snowstorm.

"But we are still in the process of cleaning from the October storm," she said. "It requires more extensive clean-up. We are collecting branches and hiring outside workers as funds are available."

In assuming for a normal 2012, with the possibilities of some flooding and snow, the township will be fine in terms of equipment and workers, Bogart said.

"We appropriate equipment and manpower, and the wages associated with those, and it's assumed it will be a normal year," he said. "That means some flooding, some snow, but in all likelihood no extreme weather events. That's how we budget."

"And in most years, if not almost all, that philosophy works," he added. "But it's been a rather weird year all around."

As for the , Bogart said, the real reason for the havoc it created was because of all the leaves still being on the trees as the snow fell.

"If the trees had been bare, there would have been very few branches down," he said.

But it would not be economically feasible to assume for these kinds of events each year, Bogart said.

"People wonder why we can't put out more equipment or men on the job," he said. "We only have two chippers, which is enough for normal usage, and it wouldn't be economically feasible to have another one sit around most of the time."

"In a well-run conservative town in this economy, you wouldn't budget for extra wages in the event of an unusual circumstance because the theory would be that you would have extra people on the payroll or extra equipment sitting unused," he added. "If you don't need it, why appropriate the money?"

Flannery said there is always a plan in the township in case of a snowstorm prior to Jan. 1, and the spending of funds depends on the nature of the weather. For example, she said, if plowing is needed during regular work hours, public works employees are already on call, so it may not cost the town any additional money to send them out.

If the storm happens on the weekend or after hours, Flannery said, it requires costs for overtime work.

But looking ahead to 2012, Bogart said, everything seems to be in order.

"For the normal year, we're perfectly fine in terms of equipment and materials," he said.