Politics & Government

Monmouth County Snow Plowing Costs State $54K

The county helped clear state roads during the Dec. 26 blizzard.

The Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering incurred $54,747.37 in costs to plow state roads after the Sunday, Dec. 26 blizzard that buried the state in two feet of snow.

According to John W. Tobias, director of county public works, the department finished clearing county roads the Monday after the storm and offered assistance to the state Department of Transportation (DOT) on Tuesday. The county had a verbal agreement with the DOT that the costs would be reimbursed.

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders unanimously approved a resolution at their regular meeting on Feb. 10 authorizing the agreement and specifying the costs. The DOT will review the county’s bills before signing off on the repayment, Tobias said.

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The county was responsible for plowing portions of I-195, Route 9, Route 71, Route 138, Route 34, Route 35, Route 33, Route 36 and Route 18. The $54,747.37 reflects the exact cost of labor, equipment and salting to the county for the work on state roads.

“We can’t make a profit when we’re working with state,” Tobias said.

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The county already has mutual agreements with municipal governments to assist with snow removal if requests are made; such an agreement was not in place with the state and thus the resolution was required, according to Tobias.

“It’s out of the ordinary that we would go out and help the state,” Tobias said.


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