Storm Clean-Up Could Still be Costly for Wilton

Despite the town expecting to be reimbursed  by FEMA for damages caused by and , the Wilton (DPW) is not expecting their overtime budget to remain unscathed.

“We blew through a great deal of our overtime budget to get tress of roads, something we don’t normally budget for,” said Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Sandra Dennies.

Funds “typically budgeted for snow removal were used for debris removal,” she said, noting that is still occurring.

Clean-up is indeed still underway, and its completion hasn’t gone without a few bumps.

“More than 80 percent of the town is cleaned up” and “close to 1.5 million pounds of wood chips” have accumulated from debris-related wood chipping said First Selectman William Brennan at Board of Selectman meeting.

Also hampering the clean-up effort are more allegations of citizens, or perhaps contractors, dumping non-storm related debris on the side of the road for clean up. Brennan said that those caught doing so will be fined and the police will be contacted. Complaints of this type have apparently been .

As of this writing, the DPW has spent $82,822 of its FY 2012 overtime budget which is $143,412; this leaves a current balance $60,590, according to an email sent by Richard McArdle of the DPW. 

In comparison, last year’s overtime budget scraped by with just about a $9,000 clearance, with $134,204 of the $143,412 having been spent, something likely due to the mountains of snow that Mother Nature dumped on Fairfield County and Wilton last winter.

For only Tropical Storm Irene, the DPW said it is seeking $21,750 in overtime costs from FEMA. This number is 75 percent of the $29,000 the town has spent on overtime expenses related specifically for Irene—October Storm Alfed’s costs will be calculated in about two weeks, according to the DPW.