There's one group of people keeping their fingers crossed Windsor-Essex gets a green Christmas this year, the people who plow our roads.
"Everyone likes a white Christmas when you're sitting and having your turkey," says County of Essex engineer Tom Bateman. "But, you have to remember our crews are out and not with their families. So, if it's a green Christmas I'm sure there will be quite a few happy faces amongst my crew."
And it's not just the snow plow operators, Bateman says thanks to an unusually warm fall, snow removal costs will likely come in under budget this year. He anticipates savings in the order of a couple hundred thousand dollars.
"We do have some substantial fixed costs," he says. "We have our night crews, and we have our contractors on stand-by. And of course, we purchase our salt."
Bateman says just one good snowfall can cost the county $125,000 to clear the roads. He says over the past couple of years; the snow removal budget has gone over by upwards of $700,000.
