Storms Impact Local Budgets

Multiple storms caused massive damage across the Chicago suburbs—and wreaked havoc on the budgets of cash-strapped municipalities.

Three major storms roared through DuPage County this year, dumping rain and snow, and accompanied by high winds that uprooted trees, broke branches, damaged power lines and caused all kinds of mischief.

While the storms gave residents headaches (and some back-aches due to clean-up efforts) they did that and more for suburban governments, exacting large price tags.

Village costs: $635,000

The village of Downers Grove spent $635,000 mopping up after the storms of 2011. The village is responsible for cleaning up public-owned areas, but will sometimes assist private property owners in clean up efforts if enough residents are impacted by storm damage.

A blizzard in February dumped nearly two feet of snow onto Downers Grove and much of suburban Chicago. Village crews worked throughout the storm to clear streets for emergency vehicles, and later for commercial and residential traffic. That effort cost the village $175,000, according to information provided by Downers Grove Village Manager David Fieldman.

Far more costly to the village was the June 21 thunderstorm and tornado, which included wind gusts as high as 80 miles per hour, according to weather reports. The high winds brought down trees, branches and power lines.

Once the storm broke, the village began the cleanup process, which included hauling away downed trees and limbs from public areas with the contracted help of outside tree removal companies. The storm’s physical damage was widespread, but it also walloped the village pocketbook.  Cleanup costs for the June 21 storm reached $400,000 in manpower, overtime and contractual expenses.

Less than one month later, on July 11, another thunderstorm rocked through the area with wind speeds of more than 60 miles per hour. Although there was not as much physical damage as in June, Downers Grove officials still had to spend additional funds of $59,700 to clean up the debris, which included contracts with outside tree removal services.

Because of the unexpected cleanup costs during a tight budget cycle, Commissioner Bob Barnett proposed allocating hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional funds in future budgets for storm cleanup.

He also suggested the village could assist residents with the cleanup of private property after the July 11 storm. Barnett said helping people clean up after a storm caused widespread damage is part of the core services that local government should provide. Because of the additional strain on government finances, Barnett said it’s something that needs to be fully discussed.

“The costs we’ve faced from these three storms is approaching a $1 million budget-buster,” he said.

Park District costs tally $25,000

The Downers Grove Park District also has faced expensive clean-up costs, although nowhere near as high as the village. Director of Parks Todd Reese said cleaning up after the three storms totaled less than $25,000.

He said the Park District caught a break after the February blizzard by being able to qualify for a federal grant of $5,000 to assist with costs. If the federal dollars come through, clean up costs paid for out of the Park District budget will only amount to approximately $2,000, Reese said. If the grant is not awarded, Reese said those costs will have to come out of the Park District's operating budget.

Like the village, the June 21 tornado was the mostly costly for the Park District. Reese said it spent just shy of $10,000 to clean up debris, including $4,800 on in-house labor costs and $4,500 for contracted tree removal. He said the district saved money on tree removal because most of the trees downed in the storm were in remote areas, and so did not require immediate attention.

“We were able to wait awhile and didn’t have to outbid another agency for quick tree removal. We’re just beginning to button things up from that storm now,” Reese said.

The Park District spent between $2,000 and $3,000 for the July 11 clean up. He said most of the costs were incidentals, such as purchasing ice for the golf course to keep food fresh during the power outage.

Storms also hammered District 99

The storms also impacted Community High School District 99. The February blizzard cost the school district $22,000 for clean up efforts, said Communications Direcctor Jill Browning.

Browning said the district is still tallying up costs from the two summer thunderstorms. The June storm wrought significant damage to Downers Grove North and South high schools. Trees were damaged or lost, multiple roofs were impaired and other equipment, such as fencing, temporary bleachers and sheds, were affected, Browning said in an email.