Saluda commissioners say this winter has bankrupted the city’s street department budget due to mass amounts of brush collection and they are awaiting possible assistance from state and federal agencies.
Saluda commissioners met Monday, when commissioner Leon Morgan reported the status of the brush collection following the storms. Saluda was hit the hardest in the county with snow and storms this winter. A state of emergency was declared following one storm recently when many residents were out of power for days.
Morgan said so far the city has collected 207 truck loads of brush, or 2007 cubic yards from residents and are planning another 500 plus truck loads. He asked residents to be patient due to the extra workload, saying employees have spent the last three weekends picking up brush and debris and working many overtime hours.
City officials said they looked into contracting out the clean up but it was just too expensive. Because Saluda declared a state of emergency, state and federal funding could be available to repay the citys clean up efforts, such as reimbursing the city for overtime hours.
The brush being collected is available for residents to have at no cost to chip for mulch purposes. Anyone interested needs to go by city hall to sign up.
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