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In a review of snowplow/snow removal expenditures per community, differences in how much a town is willing to pay for the service quickly emerge.
Among the 10 largest communities in Central and Western Massachusetts, it’s hard to beat Worcester. The city spent $8,530 per mile of city roadway on plowing services in 2019.
The biggest city spending the least amount of money per mile to plow its streets is Chicopee - which spent $2,635 per mile in 2019.
Here’s what the largest communities paid to remove snow in 2019, according to the most recent data from the Massachusetts Division of Local Services.
To see what’s happening in your town, keep scrolling.
TOP 10 LARGEST CITIES
It’s hard to beat Worcester on snow-removal spending, but Pittsfield in Berkshire County is the only one in Central and Western Massachusetts that does. The Berkshires’ get more snow than other parts of the state and has fewer available workers - a situation that jacks up the cost of street plowing. Pittsfield spent $10,442 per mile on snow plowing in 2019.
Here’s what other cities spent:
- Worcester - $8,530 spent per mile on snow removal, total spent was about $4.6 million in 2019
- Leominster - $7,397 per mile, $1.4 million total spent on snow removal
- Milford - $6,509 per mile, $805,000 total spent
- Shrewsbury - $6,234 per mile, $1.2 million total
- Westfield - $5,323 per mile, $1.3 million total
- Fitchburg - $4,692 per mile, $950,000 total
- Holyoke - $3,426 per mile, $606,500 total
- Springfield - $3,140 per mile, $1.6 million total
- Amherst - $2,864 per mile, $395,410 total
- Chicopee - $2,635 per mile, $692,000 total
Among the factors that determine how much a community spends on snow removal is the cost of materials such as sand and salt, snow plow/vehicle maintenance, wages, and past budget appropriations.
It is not uncommon for a community to earmark less than what is needed for snow removal, then pass added spending measures as needed. Doing things this way makes sure that money doesn’t get tied up in snow removal services - when it could be spent on police, schools, etc. - during a light winter. In many cases, removing money from a department in the middle of a budget cycle is much harder than passing a supplemental appropriation.
WORCESTER COUNTY
Here’s what your community spent to remove snow in 2019 going from most to least money per mile spent. The data includes the per mile as well as total expenditure.
- Worcester $8,530 per mile - $4,571,136 total spent
- Leominster $7,397 per mile - $1,365,000 total
- Clinton $6,776 per mile - $360,000 total
- Westborough $6,642 per mile - $740,197 total
- Milford $6,509 per mile - $805,000 total
- Shrewsbury $6,324 per mile - $1,152,814 total
- W. Boylston $6,253 per mile - $395,568 total
- Millville $5,930 per mile - $147,889 total
- Uxbridge $5,702 per mile - $705,000 total
- Gardner $4,884 per mile - $576,659 total
- Southborough $4,766 per mile - $408,805 total
- Fitchburg $4,692 per mile - $950,000 total
- Southbridge $4,654 per mile - $400,000 total
- Northborough $4,546 per mile - $427,000 total
- Bolton $4,531 per mile - $301,119 total
- Athol $4,224 per mile - $485,364 total
- Holden $4,208 per mile - $548,013 total
- Blackstone $4,113 per mile - $193,811 total
- Auburn $4,110 per mile - $487,289 total
- Northbridge $4,100 per mile - $360,000 total
- Westminster $4,088 per mile - $453,950 total
- Hopedale $3,997 per mile - $127,986 total
- Royalston $3,981 per mile - $291,983 total
- Mendon $3,919 per mile - $241,417 total
- Paxton $3,902 per mile - $182,064 total
- Oxford $3,748 per mile - $418,834 total
- Lunenburg $3,690 per mile - $340,375 total
- Harvard $3,658 per mile - $292,345 total
- Upton $3,628 per mile - $292,000 total
- Douglas $3,578 per mile - $300,000 total
- Webster $3,570 per mile - $302,225 total
- Berlin $3,506 per mile - $156,606 total
- Boylston $3,399 per mile - $176,000 total
- Ashburnham $3,330 per mile - $325,000 total
- Grafton $3,121 per mile - $324,163 total
- Princeton $3,001 per mile - $248,814 total
- Brookfield $2,786 per mile - $111,358 total
- Hubbardston $2,761 per mile - $236,400 total
- Spencer $2,745 per mile - $315,000 total
- Sutton $2,672 per mile - $300,000 total
- N. Brookfield $2,596 per mile - $184,531 total
- Lancaster $2,572 per mile - $193,269 total
- Winchendon $2,484 per mile - $293,057 total
- Rutland $2,345 per mile - $247,822 total
- Leicester $2,322 per mile - $221,000 total
- E. Brookfield $2,305 per mile - $63,540 total
- Sterling $2,231 per mile - $237,185 total
- Sturbridge $2,225 per mile - $267,813 total
- Charlton $2,166 per mile - $340,000 total
- Millbury $2,052 per mile - $175,000 total
- W. Brookfield $1,820 per mile - $120,864 total
- Warren $1,819 per mile - $134,560 total
- Dudley $1,817 per mile - $165,401 total
- Oakham $1,806 per mile - $89,859 total
- Barre $1,559 per mile - $182,741 total
- Hardwick $1,546 per mile - $133,555 total
- Templeton $1,501 per mile - $150,183 total
- Petersham $990 per mile - $78,441 total
- N. Braintree $963 per mile - $48,983 total
- Phillipston $941 per mile - $50,000 total.
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