Municipal highway budgets in Jefferson County are about to get peppered by the price of salt.
The county's cost for a ton of rock salt, used to melt snow and ice from roadways, will triple this winter under a contract the county is prepared to sign with a Western New York supplier.
"We anticipated an increase, but not a 300 percent increase," said James L. Lawrence Jr., the county's highway superintendent. "It will have a significant impact on the county's snow removal budget."
The contract calls for American Rock Salt, Mount Morris, to deliver up to 37,000 tons of salt to the county at $129.68 per ton, an $87.70 per ton increase over last year's price of $41.98.
That means if the county and the more than 30 municipalities that avail themselves of the salt need it all this winter, the cost of the contract would jump from about $1.55 million in 2007-08 to nearly $4.8 million in 2008-09.
The county was left with no choice but to accept American Rock Salt's terms as it was the only supplier that submitted a bid. Four other suppliers were solicited, but each said it had none to offer because salt supplies were depleted last winter.
The county opened American Rock Salt's bid Aug. 14 and, according to the proposed agreement, had until Sept. 28 to award the contract. However, the supplier informed the county Tuesday that it instead had about 48 hours to make a decision or the bid would be withdrawn, leaving the county with no known supply of salt.
"American Rock Salt said it would rescind the bid unless they heard from us by 4 p.m. today, leaving the county with no option," Mr. Lawrence said Thursday.
Mr. Lawrence hurriedly called a meeting of village and town highway officials and a consensus was reached Thursday afternoon that they had to accept American Rock Salt's offer because there was no alternative.
"The consensus was: It's either all or none. Salt is a need; this is what's available; we'll go with that," Mr. Lawrence said.
The county's largest salt user is the city of Watertown at about 3,000 tons a year. Mr. Lawrence said the city had submitted a proposal in which it would use about 3,600 tons this year. Under 2007-08 pricing, that amount of salt would have cost the city $151,128. Under the new pricing, the annual cost would be $466,848.
"We assumed in our budget it was going to go up, but nobody ever dreamed it was going to come in at a price like this," said Peter E. Monaco, assistant superintendent of the city's Department of Public Works.
Mr. Monaco said the city bases its proposed salt use on historical trends, but pointed out that winters are unpredictable. He said last winter "was a goofy winter for snow and ice control" as it featured freezing and thawing cycles that created a great deal of icing on streets.
"We've go to do something for salt," he said. "Not buying salt for the city of Watertown is not an option."
The Watertown City School District also will feel the pinch of salt prices. It uses about 200 tons a year, which would translate into a cost of $8,396 for 2007-08, but $25,936 for 2008-09.
Mr. Lawrence said "there was a lot frustration" among highway superintendents at Thursday's meeting as they expressed concerns about keeping roads cleared while keeping budgets in control.
"The public will definitely see the difference," he said. "The level of service will be there for the safety factor, but they are not going to see the bare roads they were accustomed to in the past."
Using less salt is an option, but that's "dependent on the weather and dependent on budgets," Mr. Lawrence said. Under the county's contract with American Rock Salt, it can use a minimum of 60 percent of the 37,000 tons and still receive the $129.68 per ton price. Conversely, the county can also request up to 125 percent of its previously requested amount at the same price.
Mr. Lawrence said the county's purchasing department is looking for options that will help it control salt prices in the future. One way may be to have the county added to the state's salt contract administered by the Office of General Services.
A state Department of Transportation spokesman could not immediately provide the price per ton called for under the state contract, but it is believed to be just below $60. Mr. Lawrence said in 12 out of 13 years the county has been soliciting its own contracts for salt, the price the county received was lower than the state's.
The county tried to get added to the state contract this year when it realized the extent of its price jump, but OGS said extremely tight salt supplies precluded that option. The county may try to join with other nearby counties to get a better price by contracting for larger quantities, although some neighboring counties, such as Lewis County, already buy salt under the state contract.
