Road Salt Costs Set to Increase for Local Governments

The effects of an historically cold and snowy winter are being felt all the way into July and will continue to pinch local government budgets into 2015. 

The Department of Central Management Services put cities on notice that the agency found no takers willing to submit bids for road salt contracts. The salt is purchased in bulk by the state through a joint purchasing pool and made available to local governments at reduced prices. 

Earlier this month, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services informed many city and county officials in charge of buying road salt that no vendors responded to their requests for bids. 

More than 560 communities participated in the solicitation for road salt bids, said department spokesman Mike Claffey. Of those, 367 communities received bids from salt vendors and 195 did not. The department offered to seek new bids from vendors, while cautioning public works departments to explore other alternatives.

The alternative is for cities, villages, and towns to purchase the salt themselves at higher prices:

Demand appears to be driving up prices, state officials said. Municipalities that did get bids from vendors are looking at prices ranging from $70 to more than $140 per ton. Last year, the going rate was $55 to $65 per ton.

The salt shortage is affecting counties as well: 

Sangamon County will solicit bids for winter road salt this year after the brutal winter left the state unable to provide the usual supplies. 

County Highway Engineer Tim Zahrn said Monday the bid process could result in costs 20 percent to 50 percent higher than the $58.01 per ton paid for salt last winter. But he said the county had little choice after the Illinois Department of Central Management Service announced it was unable to obtain supplies on behalf of nearly 200 cities and counties this year.

The cost of road salt isn't an issue that most residents pay attention to as long as their roads are salted following a snowfall. But it represents yet another budgetary pressure on local governments that, along with increasing wages, pensions, and employee health insurance costs, ultimately affect local taxpayers even if they aren't aware of its impact.