Whatcom County’s Public Works Department reported that it will have a limited capacity to respond to significant snowfall this year and advised residents to prepare for emergency situations.
One significant factor that contributes to this limited capacity is funding, according to Roland Middleton, a spokesperson for the department. The cost to maintain the county roads is higher than the amount of money coming in from the road fund, which is primarily funded through tax money from those who live in unincorporated parts of the county.
In years past, the department has pulled money from a fund balance to make up for the deficit, particularly to complete larger projects, such as the Birch Bay berm. Over the past few years, that fund has been entirely spent down due to change in leadership, according to Middleton.
The department has eliminated eight positions and frozen another 13, which remain vacant and will not be filled until the budget is balanced.
“There are 935 miles of road in unincorporated Whatcom County that doesn’t include the cities or the state highways, that’s just 935 miles of county road,” Middleton said. “The plows have to go one way and then back the other way, so that's 1,870 lane miles of road to plow. We have 40 people. 40 people to try to do it.”
With fewer employees working to maintain county roads, the department is encouraging residents to prepare for potentially heavy snowfall since not all roads can be plowed.
“We don’t know if we’re going to have a bad storm, but if we do, and we don’t prepare ahead of time, then you’re really going to feel the pinch,” Middleton said.
Middleton recommends that residents keep around two weeks’ worth of basic supplies such as food, water, gasoline and medication on hand in case people are snowed into their homes.
He also encouraged those who have necessary medical appointments to have a backup plan in case snowy roads remain unplowed. “Looking out for one another, as well, is critically important, and that’s the kind of stuff you can do now ahead of time, and not at eight o’clock in the morning when you wake up and there’s a foot and a half of snow out there,” Middleton said.
The public works department has a travel planner on its website which posts closures and restrictions as well as the priority roads that will be plowed in the event of snowfall, which can be accessed at bit.ly/4odF8Dt.
