When there's no white stuff in NJ, is there more green stuff in agency budgets?

Thanks to a mild winter with little snowfall, state agencies and local governments barely tapped into their salt supplies or their snow removal budgets over the past several months.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority budgeted $37 million for snow removal in 2023, and so far the agency has only spent $1.4 million, just under 4% of what was budgeted, according to spokesman Tom Feeney.

NJ Transit, meanwhile, expects the winter just past will be the second-cheapest in the last 24 years, with the agency spending only $2.4 million as of March 10, according to spokesman Jim Smith.

NJ Transit spent $8M less than average

“NJ Transit is likely to have spent roughly $8 million less than the 24-year average,” Smith said, cautioning that winter storms are still possible during the early days of spring and NJ Transit "will continue to closely monitor associated costs.”

Passaic County used only 3,000 tons of salt

Passaic County has about 10,000 tons of salt on hand currently, and only used about 3,000 between December 2022 through March 16. As long as it is stored correctly — away from water, humidity and direct sunlight — it can be saved for next year, said Kenneth Simpson, head of the county’s roads department.

Newton paid out only half the overtime

In Sussex County, Newton needed 55% less salt this January through March than last year, and paid out only 51% of the overtime man hours it had in those months last year, according to Newton Town Manager Thomas S. Russo.

But the savings on a warmer and less precipitous winter doesn’t exactly make it rain cash.

For example, the majority of NJ Transit’s snow removal costs are for overtime to pay for employees to work longer days and outside the normal expectations of their day-to-day jobs. Money that isn’t spent on materials like salt gets put back into the operating budget.

Savings directed to other events

The Turnpike Authority groups snow removal in with its "severe weather" budget line so the funds not spent on snow could be used for other events, like hurricane and tornado responses throughout the year.

Towns, boroughs and counties have begun planning their budgets so they can absorb the costs of a heavy snow year and save during the mild years.

Banking the surplus for a future bad year

Hackensack created a savings account to transfer unspent money budgeted for snow removal in mild winters for use in snowy years. By tapping into that account during years with more storms, they can leave their general budget intact. This year, the city only spent about $9,500 out of its $235,000 snow removal budget.

Years ago, borough officials in Hawthorne began budgeting for snow using an average of the prior three years’ snow removal costs. They also created a reserve account for Mother Nature’s unforgiving winters using the balance from flurry-less years.

“It’s sort of like a ‘budget plan’ for paying an electric or gas bill — we have no surprises,” said Eric Maurer, the borough administrator. “A single ‘good’ or ‘bad’ year doesn’t change things much.”

Warmer spring forecast

While North Jersey can get snow in late March, the current forecast shows no snow through the end of the month, with daily low temperatures not dipping below 32 degrees.

The spring months will likely be slightly warmer than usual for much of the Northeast, including New Jersey, according to long-range outlook by the National Weather Service.

Megan Burrow, Philip DeVencentis, David Zimmer and Kristie Cattafi contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: What happens to snow removal money during mild NJ winters?