The recent spate of freezing weather has taken its toll on Perth and Kinross Council’s finances, with its winter maintenance budget already completely spent.
Several weeks of sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow has decimated the £2.795 million intended to provide cover from October 1, 2010, until April 18 this year.
The cash reserve set aside for dealing with cold weather was actually cut back for the first time in four years, from last winter’s total of £2.888 million.
This is despite 2009 seeing the amount spent by the local authority almost double as costs hit more than £5 million.
Although this is the third year in a row that this budget has been used up, council leader Ian Miller told The Courier that the fund was only “notional.”
He said, “The budget is our best estimate of what the actual cost is going to be and we know that it isn’t going to be completely accurate.
“That is why we always have a contingency plan in place, so that if there is a lot of bad weather, we can cope with that.”
He added, “In terms of finance, we will use resources from our reserves. I can give assurances that there will be no reduction in other services in terms of what has happened this winter.
“When we are setting the budget, we look at the trends.
“Last year we had a severe winter and it looks like it will be the same this year, so we will bear this in mind when we sit down in summer and set the budget.”Grit supply ‘stable’Mr Miller added that there had been unforeseen costs last year, including a rescue centre set up in November to provide shelter for more than 600 motorists left stranded on main routes throughout Tayside.
He also gave assurances that, despite a significant hole in the winter budget, any future gritting or snow clearing responses would not be affected.
He revealed that the local authority had been working closely with the Scottish Government to find an innovative way to make the grit stocks go further.
Mr Miller said, “One of the types of salt that has been made available to us in extra quantities is too fine to go through the gritters.
“However, we have discovered that if we mix it with normal grit we can make it last a lot longer.”
He added, “Grit supplies in Perth and Kinross are stable we have enough to last us for a month and have new supplies coming in.
“There is nothing for people to be concerned about.”
Residents are encouraged to do their bit to help the council by clearing and treating areas around their homes.
In a bid to provide support for householders, the local authority plans to look at ways they can allow them to carry out their own snow clearance work.
Mr Miller added, “That is certainly an area we will be looking at in the future, although it is too early at the moment to give any indication to what the results will be.
“Obviously, the more the public can do to help is better for the community.”