KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As most people around the Kansas City metro know, two back-to-back snowstorms shut down much of the area at the beginning of the month.
While much of that snow has since melted away, the effects of the storm on city budgets remain.
"There were actually two separate snow incidents that our crews were dispatched to. And whether it’s the cost of the equipment, whether it’s the maintenance of the equipment, whether it’s the cost of the salt, the calcium chloride, all of those things go into it. It is a substantial investment that our residents expect in a city the size of Olathe," the City of Olathe's Public Information Officer Cody Kennedy explained.
Kennedy added, "We were running 24/7 for about four days straight over the weekend. And of course, when you have 40-50 mph wind gusts, everything you had just plowed is then covered with snow again. So, there was a significant amount of just re-plowing. And of course, there are certain instances where the salt doesn’t take because it’s below freezing or what have you. Or, if there’s a light rain before the ice it will wash away some of that treatment. So, in these particular storms, we faced both of those adversarial nature type conditions, and this one was a particularly challenging storm."
So how much did those storms cost your city?
Here at KSHB 41 we have an extensive beat system, with our reporters specializing in both different topics and different parts of the area.
So, we had them check in with various cities to find out how much they spent, and to see if those high costs could mean the buck gets passed on to you, the taxpayers.
Note: Some cities provided data for the first storm, and some provided data for the entire week, including both storms. That distinction is noted below.
Megan Abundis (Share your story idea with Megan), Kansas City, Missouri, and Raymore:
KCMO:
- $3.6 million total spent
- $6.9 million is budgeted for snow removal each year
- City officials say even if they go over each year, this won't cost taxpayers more because they have emergency funds that they can pull from if needed.
*Numbers include only the first snow event
Raytown:
- More than $121,000 spent on overtime vehicle usage and salt
- 618 tons of salt used = 61% of yearly budget for salt
- City Officials say overall they have plenty of reserves for emergency spending.
*Numbers include only the first snow event
Tod Palmer (Share your story idea with Tod), Independence and Blue Springs:
Independence:
- More than $322,000 spent
- 60 employees worked roughly 4,800 hours and drove more than 13,000 miles
- 1,827 tons of salt used
- 42,000 gallons of brine used
*Numbers include both snow events
Blue Springs:
- $321,000 total spent (does not include pay for normal business hours)
- 1,300 tons of salt used = $130,000
- Labor: Regular hours = 758.95; Overtime hours = 1,492.45; Total hours = 2,251.40
*Numbers include both snow events
Claire Bradshaw (Share your story idea with Claire), Grandview:
- $39,000 total spent
- $30,000 on salt = 60% of salt budget
- $9,000 on overtime = 20% of overtime budget
- City budgeted for $100,000 for both salt and overtime, so no budget issues are expected
*Numbers include both snow events
Elyse Schoenig (Share your story idea with Elyse), Mission and Shawnee
Mission:
- $20,472 total spent
- 350 tons of salt = $17,290
- 1,200 gallons of brine = $1,200
- $20,472 labor ($9,287 regular time, $11,285 overtime)
- City's total budget set aside $65,000 for materials and $23,000 for overtime
*Numbers include both snow events
Shawnee:
- $109,000 spent on ice control materials = 30% of amount budgeted
*Numbers include both snow events, total amount including labor costs not provided
Rachel Henderson (Share your story idea with Rachel), Kansas City, Kansas:
- First winter storm cost $237,097 = about 23% of overall $1,047,210 snow removal budget
- $142,266 spent on labor
- 1,580 tons of salt used (salt reserves already replenished)
- 12,650 gallons of salt brine
- 7,848 gallons of fuel
*Numbers include only the first snow event
Lily O'Shea Becker (Share your story idea with Lily), Lawrence:
- Around $625,000 total spent
- $60,000 of that used to clean Massachusetts Street
*Unclear if amount includes both storms
Caitlin Knute (Share your voice with Caitlin), Olathe:
- Total cost: $848,382
- Salt: $114,365
- Brine: $9,799
- Calcium chloride: $1,727
- Employee cost: $378,404
- Equipment cost: $354,079
- 51% of 2025 material budget
- No impact on taxpayers
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