Minn. cities see hefty snowstorm bills at holiday

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The winter storm forecast to hit Minnesota over the Christmas holiday could prove costly for cities that have to dole out holiday pay to snow plow drivers and other city workers.

The city of St. Paul's street maintenance engineer tells Minnesota Public Radio News that the city budgets about $500,000 for an average snow emergency. He says the timing of the storm could add an additional $250,000 in expenses.

St. Paul budgeted for four snow emergencies in calendar year 2009, and those funds have already been exhausted as the city declared three snow emergencies last winter and one already this December.

The city of Minneapolis is also expecting greater snow-removal costs than usual. So is the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where some workers will be paid double time-and-a-half for working Christmas Day.

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Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mpr.org

Tags: state and region, winter weather, snow, advisory, weather, winter, snowstorm, blizzard, daily updates