City Comptroller Report On Snow Removal in NYC

TheSlipperyCostSlopeofIceandSnowRemovalinNewYorkCity
New York City Comptroller
Scott M. Stringer
Bureau of Fiscal and Budget Studies
The Slippery Cost Slope of Ice and Snow

Removal in New York City
OfficeoftheNewYorkCityComptrollerScottM.Stringer
January 2015
The Slippery Cost Slope of Ice and Snow

Removal in New York City
WhenmajorwinterstormshitNewYorkCity,thetaskofremovingiceandsnowfromcitystreets
canbegargantuanandexpensive.TheoldoftcitedadageisthattheCityspends$1millionper
inchofsnowremoval.However,acloserlookatrecentNewYorkCityDepartmentofSanitation
(DSNY)budgetdatarevealsamuchmorenuancedportraitoficeandsnowremovalcosts,with
decliningcostcurvesthatresembletheslipperyslopesofatobogganjump.
Clearingiceandsnowfromprimary,secondaryandtertiarystreetsisacomplextaskinvolving
specialized supplies, machinery and personnel. Over 3,000 pieces of ice and snow removal
equipmentareprepositionedalongsnowplowingroutesandactivatedonceneeded.Immense
quantities of salt and calcium chloride are purchased and spread each year and the
replenishmentofwinterweatherhardwaresuchastirechainsandplowbladesisanongoing
necessity.
WinterweathereventsrequiretheSanitationworkforcetomobilizewithlittlenotice,attimes,
and for durations, dictated by Mother Nature. From midNovember to early April, DSNY
increasesitsnighttimestaffinglevelsandwhenwinterstormsthreatenoroccur,DSNYassigns
many within its workforce to special twelve hour shifts. In some circumstances, temporary
assistancefromnonDSNYpersonnelisalsosoughtandpaidforonanhourlyorcontractbasis.
ThisreportwillbrieflyexamineandexplaintheCitysiceandsnowremovalbudget,including
fluctuationsintheamountsspentduringatwelveyearstudyperiodfromFY2003FY2014.
Total Costs for Ice and Snow Removal

Eachfiscalyear,theamountbudgetedfortheremovaloficeandsnowfollowsaformulaoutlined
inChapter6,103oftheNewYorkCityCharter.
Thebudgetedamountisequaltotheaveragespentforiceandsnowremovalforthefivefiscal
years preceding the year being budgeted. The amount includes personal services costs for
overtime and for work on Sundays and holidays but excludes regular salaries and wages of
employees.
However,theadoptedbudgetamountisrarelyanaccuratepredictoroftheamountspentfor
actualsnowandiceremoval.Generally,thebudgetismodifiedafterthefacttomatchtheactual
expenses.
Asonewouldexpect,theCitysspendingforiceandsnowremovalvariesaccordingtosnowfall
amountsduringthewinterseason.However,snowremovalcostsmaybeincurredevenwhen
there is little or no snowfall. For example, a snow forecast may prompt presalting and the
mobilizationofDSNYiceandsnowremovalcrewsandequipment,buttheanticipatedsnowfall
maynotactuallymaterialize.
FromFY2003FY2014,annualsnowfalltotalsaveraged35.9inchesperyear,withahighof61.5
inchesinFY2011andalowof6.8inchesinFY2012.
Figure 1 Annual Snowfall Totals (inches)
NewYorkCitySnowfallTotals(inches)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source:MayorsManagementReport
Annualcostsforiceandsnowremovalrangewidely,fromalowof$25.4millioninFY2008toa
highof$130.7millionforlastfiscalyearswinterseason.TheaverageannualcostfromFY2003
FY2014was$55.3million.
ThetwoyearswiththemostsnowFY2011andFY2014are125%and136%abovetheaverage
cost,respectively.
FY2011isbestrememberedforthepostChristmasblizzardthatdumpedover20inchesofsnow
ontheCity.Asuccessiveblizzardjustweekslateralsoleft19inchesofsnowonCitystreets,
resultinginthehighestyearlyaccumulationofthelasttwelveyears.
FY 2014 was also notable for a trio of snowstorms in late January and early February
characterizedbywet,heavysnows,frigidtemperaturesandtotalaccumulationsof811inches
perstorm.
Bothofthosefiscalyearscorrespondtoawinterthatexperiencedalargestorm,earlyinthe
seasonandpubliccriticismofthatstormscleanup.Akeyindicatorofavoidingaboveaverage
costsseemstobeaneffectivecleanupofthefirststorm.
Figure2belowillustratesfluctuationsintotaliceandsnowremovalcostsforFY2003FY2014.
Figure 2 Annual Ice and Snow Removal Costs
AnnualIceandSnowRemovalCosts
$132,000,000
$110,000,000
$88,000,000
$66,000,000
$44,000,000
$22,000,000
$
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Source:NewYorkCityComptrollersOffice,ComprehensiveAnnualFinancialReports
Areviewofperinchremovalcostsillustratesthepowerfulimpactthatuncontrollableweather
conditionshaveonDSNYsspendingamountsforiceandsnowremovaleachfiscalyear.Atfirst
blush, per inch removal costs may appear counterintuitive in that the costs per inch of snow
removalaresignificantlyhigherinlightsnowyearsthaninheavierones.
Generally, the costperinch for ice and snow removal follows a declining cost curve where
expenses peak in light snowfall years and then decrease in years with greater snowfall
accumulations.FromFY2003FY2014,theaveragecostperinchwas$1.8million.Thelowest
costperinch,$740,000,wasobservedinFY2003whentheCityexperiencedawintersnowfall
amountof55.5inches.Thehighestobservedcost,$4.4millionperinch,wasrecordedinFY2012,
ayearwhensnowfalltoppedoutatonly6.8inches.
Largesnowfallamountsasapredictoroflowperinchiceandsnowremovalcostsonlyholdstrue
whenannualsnowfalltotalsbetween24and56inches.Whenannualsnowfalltotalsincreased
beyond approximately 43 inches, costs began to rise. Per inch ice and snow removal costs
increased in FY 2011 (61.5 inches) and FY 2014 (56.3 inches) to $2.0 million and $2.3 million
respectively.
ThescatterplotinFigure3illustratesthetotalcostperinchforeachofthefiscalyearsfrom2003
2014.1
Figure 3 Total cost per inch vs. inches of snow
TotalCost/in($inmillions)
Totalcostperinchvs.inchesofsnow
$5.0
$4.5
$4.0
$3.5
$3.0
$2.5
$2.0
$1.5
$1.0
$0.5
$0.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
InchesofSnow
Source:NewYorkCityComptrollersOffice
The Comptrollers Office analyzed the Department's ice and snow removal budget by its two
majorcomponentspersonalservices(PS)whichincludeemployeeovertime,holidaypayand
hourly wages for temporary workers and other than personal services (OTPS) which covers
paymentstosnowremovalcontractors,thecostofmaterials,equipment,fuel,maintenance,and
training.Asnotedbefore,regularsalariesandwagesofemployeesarenotincludedintheCitys
snowbudget.Weexplorebothcomponentsindepthinthefollowingsections.
Personal Services
BetweenFY2003andFY2014,PScostsrangedfromalowof$11millioninFY2008whensnowfall
totaled13.8inchestoahighof$82millioninFY2014whensnowfalltotaled56.3inches.Average
PScostswere$32.6millionperyear.
AsFigure4illustrates,averageperinchcostsforpersonalservicesarealsoimpactedbytotal
wintersnowfallamounts.TheaveragePScostperinchwashighestinseasonswhenthetotal
amountofsnowfallwaslessthan13inchesandlowestwhensnowfalltotalsrangedfrom13to
43inches.Whentheamountofwintersnowfallroseabove43inches,perinchremovalcosts
increased.
R=0.8021
Figure4Averageperinchcostsbysnowfallamounts
Averageperinchcostsbysnowfallamounts PS
<13"
>43"
13"43"
$0
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
The unpredictable nature of winter storms can sometimes necessitate large PS expenditures.
OvertimeaccountsforthelargestshareofDSNYsiceandsnowremovalPScosts.BetweenFY
2003andFY2014,overtimepayaveragedeightytwopercentofDSNYsPScostsforiceandsnow
removal.Additionally,FY2014sawtotalovertimepaymentswellaboveaveragerelativetoother
years.
ThePSiceandsnowremovalbudgetalsoincludesthecostsofhiringemergencysnowlaborers
toclearareassuchasbusstopsandstreetcorners.InFY2014,emergencysnowlaborerswere
paidastartingrateof$12perhourwhichincreasedto$18perhourafterfortyhoursofworkin
agivenweek.
Other than Personal Services

Asexpected,OTPScostsfromFY2003toFY2014variedwithannualsnowfallamounts.During
thistimeperiod,thehighestOTPScostwasloggedinFY2011whentheCityspent$48.9million
toclear61.5inchesoficeandsnow.ThelowesttotalOTPScostwas$14.3millioninFY2008,
whichsawsnowfalltotalsof13.8inches.
FY2011andFY2014bothstandoutasyearswithrelativelylargesurgesinOTPSspendingon
general supplies, materials and outside contracting for snow removal services. Perhaps not
coincidentally,thesearealsothetwoyearswiththehighesttotalsnowfallamountsduringthe
twelveyearsexaminedinthisreport.
FY2003hadawintersnowfalltotalof55.5inchesandsawthelowestperinchOTPScostsof
$295,894perinch.Thelowestamountofwintersnowfall,6.8inchesinFY2012,resultedinthe
highestOTPScostperinchwhichwas$2.6million.TheaverageOTPScostperinchfromFY2003
toFY2014was$834,087.
On a per inch basis, OTPS costs generally decrease as annual snowfall totals approach
approximately50inches.Figure5illustratesfluctuationsinOTPScostperinchbasedonannual
snowfalltotals.2
Figure 5 OTPS cost per inch vs. inches of snow
OTPScostperinchvs.inchesofSnow
OPTSCost/in($inmillions)
$3.0
$2.5
$2.0
$1.5
$1.0
$0.5
$0.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
InchesofSnow
Additionally,theOTPSiceandsnowremovalbudgetincludespaymentstoprivatesnowremoval
contractors.InFY2011,whichsaw61.5inchesofsnowfall,theCitypaidprivatecontractors$11
millionforsnowremovalservices,mostlyfollowingtheholidayblizzardinDecember2010.The
Citycurrentlypaysanannualretainertofourprivatecontractorstoassistwithsnowremovalfrom
tertiaryroadwaysoutsideofManhattan.ThesecontractorscanbeactivatedbyDSNYwhenthere
isaforecastofsixinchesormoreofsnowaccumulation.
In FY 2014 DSNY dedicated over $28.7 million of its OTPS budget to general supplies and
materials, the highest amount spent in this category during the twelve year period that was
examinedforthisreport.
OneimportantcomponentofDSNYsiceandsnowremovalOTPSbudgetforgeneralsuppliesand
materialsisroadsalt.TheMayorsManagementReportdetailstheCitysroadsaltusageeach
R=0.8344
fiscalyear.AsFigure6illustrates,theamountofroadsaltthatDSNYspreadseachyearisnot
necessarilylinkedtosnowfallamounts.
Figure 6 Salt and Snowfall
SaltandSnowfall
70
600,000
60
500,000
50
400,000
40
300,000
30
200,000
20
100,000
10
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Snowfall(totalinches)
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Salt(tons)
Source:MayorsManagementReportandNewYorkCityComptrollersOffice
TheCityalsomaintainsalargeinventoryoficeandsnowmanagementequipmentthatrequires
routinemaintenanceandrepair.Thisincludesover3,500plowbladesandvplows,424largesalt
spreaders,36largeandsmallsnowmelters,and50skidsteerloaders.
Conclusion
Inshort,thecostofsnowremovalforNewYorkCityisfarfromastraightlinewhenplottedover
time.Theoldadageof$1millionperyearisalsorarelytrue.Whilecostscandipthatlowand
evenlowerincertainoptimalyears,fromFY2003FY2014,theaveragecostperinchwas$1.8
million.
Despiteconstraintsinpredictingtotaliceandsnowremovalcosts,thisweek,theCityhadthe
resourcesinplacetoensurethatDSNYcrewsandcontractorswerewellequippedtoclearour
roadssafelyandquicklyontheheelsofasnowstormthatdroppedapproximately12inchesof
snowontheCityinrecentdays.
New York City Comptroller
Scott M. Stringer
MunicipalBuilding1CentreStreet,5thFloorNewYork,NY10007
Phone(212)6693500Fax(212)6698878
www.comptroller.nyc.gov
0
@scottmstringerfacebook.com/scottstringernyc@scottmstringerstringertheory

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TheSlipperyCostSlopeofIceandSnowRemovalinNewYorkCity

New York City Comptroller

The Slippery Cost Slope of Ice and Snow

The Slippery Cost Slope of Ice and Snow

Total Costs for Ice and Snow Removal

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