With four major snowstorms just in the
past few weeks, officials said Madison's annual budget for snow and
ice removal is undeniably depleted.

"We've essentially used all of the
money that was in our budget for the 2007 calendar year," said
George Dreckmann, Madison Streets Division spokesperson. "We will
need to get additional funds from some [other] source should things
continue the way they are."

According to Al Schumacher, Madison
Streets Division Superintendent, the budget for the 2007 year is $4.6
million, with about $300,000 appropriated for each snowstorm.

"The budget is spent," Schumacher
said. "But this is an emergency-type situation, and there is not
enough time to reappropriate money."

Although city officials cannot
determine by how much the budget has been overspent, it is safe to
say the overdrawn funds will not impede continued snow clearing,
salting and safety precautions.

"The money is spent, but that doesn't
mean we are going to stop hauling snow or salting," Schumacher
said.

According to Dreckmann, public safety
is the No. 1 priority for the city of Madison.

"We've been told to go ahead
regardless of the situation and make sure we take care of public
safety first," Dreckmann said. "If it's time to go and plow,
we'll go and plow."

According to Schumacher, city officials
have two possible options to offset additional costs incurred with an
already limited budget.

"We are hoping that other agencies
will return money from their budgets at the end of the year that they
didn't spend," Schumacher said. "Or, bottom line, there is
money in the city general fund."

Furthermore, Dreckmann said the
contingency fund has approximately $30 million allocated to the
budget for rainy day situations like the one Madison currently faces.

In addition to the financial
implications the city is facing, citizen safety is also a huge
concern.

"I'm concerned about the vision
hazards at some intersections. People have to be very careful because
the snowplows pull out, and they might not see them," Schumacher
said. "Also, I'm concerned about the lack of parking and lack of
ability to get emergency vehicles through streets with cars on either
side."

However, according to Dreckmann,
serious citizen injuries have not been among the issues.

"There have been the kinds of normal
things that always go on," Dreckmann said. "We hit a mailbox here
or there, but in terms of major injuries I have not seen anything
like that reported."

George Twigg, communications director
for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, said the city of Madison will continue to
do its job in ensuring public safety.

"Of course it is the responsibility
of the city to plow the streets and make sure it's safe for traffic
to get around the city," Twigg said. "It has been challenging
because we've had an unusual amount of snow, but city plow crews
are working hard to make sure things are getting cleaned up."