Heavy Snowfall Effecting County Budget

This winter has brought down significant snowfall in Houghton County and the Road Commission is trying their best to keep the roads danger-free. Factors like ice cold temperatures and everyday snow fall is making it hard on the plows that hit the streets in the early parts of the morning. Road Commission Superintendent Ray Saatio says they have all that they can handle at this point. From a budget perspective, County Engineer Kevin Harju says the road commission is already about $70,000 dollars over-budget compared to last year. Harju says most of the budget goes to fuel consumption for the plows. He also added that this winter may have an effect on the road commission’s work during the summer. The road commission staff has been downsized about 20% in the past ten years but Harju says it is still their job to make sure the roads are safe for the drivers.