To Newtowners, it’s snow, sleet, and slush. But to local officials and Highway Department crews slogging through it with plows, sand, and salt, these passing winter fronts are classified as “events.”

So with six winter season events under their belt, the Board of Selectmen received a report from the Highway Department through First Selectman Pat Llodra January 5, detailing where the winter storm budget and related supplies of materials stand as Newtown moves into the most storm-prone period of midwinter.

The first selectman acknowledged that nobody has any control over the weather. But she said with a relatively new system for projecting supply needs and overtime budgeting, officials can be more secure that quantities of sand and salt, along with overtime projections, are as accurate as possible, and will hopefully not require added appropriations before spring weather arrives.

Mrs Llodra said based on averages calculated over a period of years, the town estimates purchases and budgets for an average of 15 winter storm events each season. The good news — “There are plenty of remaining supplies,” she said.

To date, the town has logged winter storm events on November 14, overnight between November 26 and 27, on December 9, overnight between December 10 and 11, on December 21 and January 3. Those events drained about a quarter of budgeted overtime, tapping $40,113 from the $156,370 overtime account.

Finance Director Robert Tait said the town’s supply of treated salt is already depleted by about one-third, with 1,440 tons or about $116,000 worth used from the $321,000 in supplies available for this winter. Crews have also used 661 yards of sand, costing about $10,800 of the $63,500 budgeted.

According to a spreadsheet supplied to selectmen, and true to Mrs Llodra’s comment about controlling the weather, every event required some expenditure of overtime. The most expensive so far this season was the November 26–27 storm which brought snow, followed by rain and sleet and racking up more than $14,000 in overtime, $39,000 in salt, and $3,200 in sand.

While that storm began during the time when highway crews were already available during a standard work day, it lingered into the night, requiring overtime for responding highway crews.

The balance of the events required crews to report to work after hours during the evening or on weekends.