It’s that time of year again: the time when, if your budget was set as of July 1 (and how many of us are working in the third Quarter of our budgets in January?) we are figuring out if we can meet goals for snow removal. I can tell you this will depend on four factors. The first, is of course, how much has it snowed? Two, how much overtime did you build into your Payroll costs? Third, are you contracting any of the snow removal, or are your onsite teams doing the work in-house? And, fourth, how fastidious is your snow removal policy?

Not anticipating these costs will either doom you to defeat or propel you into the next couple of months with a smile on every Maintenance Supervisor’s, Tech’s and Property Manager’s face. More likely than not, though, onsite personnel are experiencing a ridiculous amount of stress right now. Unrealistic expectations, coupled with inconsistency, will create even more additional stress on an over-worked, time-pressed Maintenance Team.

In theory, I think the prudent thing to do is to reassess and continuously reassess your Snow Removal Policy. In reality, each company should set its expectation that snow be removed as quickly as possible, as safely as possible and as cost effectively as possible. If your company requires every speck of snow be removed from every sidewalk and onsite roadway, and you ALSO require every turn be completed at the same time, AND you expect all work orders be completed, AND you do not budget in any overtime expenses, how realistic is this? I suggest the snow removal policy be revised so that snow is removed once it is prudent to do so, starting once snow accumulation measures two inches minimum. In this way, you aren’t sending a team of six out every day simply because Mother Nature has decided an additional inch would be a pretty landscape addition. It would also ensure that the team is not pulled off work order and turn completion simply because it is snowing yet again.

Changing your Policy so that no one is expected to be getting to the property at 5:00 AM because there is a coating of new snow may help alleviate the issue of paying a substantial amount of overtime. Honestly, with so little accumulation, it is possible the sun will come out by 9:00 AM and melt most of it, or the wind will blow it off the walkways. Why waste time salting every time there is another half inch on the ground? Salt/Ice melt is expensive. Save your dollars for when a real snowfall occurs.

What about safe passage concerns? Of course, the safety of our Residents, Guests and Visitors is very important. However, if freezing rain is falling, there is nothing your Maintenance Team can do to completely ensure no ice forms. In fact, putting down a ton of ice melt may be a wasted effort if it is washed away by that rain. It would be much more sensible to call the team out to salt the walkways once the rain has stopped.

Obviously the whole purpose of creating and adhering to a consistent snow removal practice is to mitigate all liability issues. Let’s face it, slip and fall accidents can occur and we must make sure we perform adequately. We must maintain accurate records in our Snow Logs as to time and date of initial daily care, as well as, all the times of the day snow removal measures were enacted. We must also be proactive in our descriptions of property conditions. It just makes so little sense to me to have a team out there shoveling an inch of snow from walkways at 5:00 AM. And if it is snowing two inches an hour, there is no way your team is going to be keeping up with snow removal. Throughout the day, the Maintenance Supervisor and Property Manager should be evaluating the condition of the property and formulating their plan of action. Certainly, during blizzard conditions, there is little to be gained by sending your team out to snow-blow sidewalks. In fact, your plow driver will be doing great just keeping your property’s entrances clear so that emergency vehicles can get through should a medical or fire emergency occur. I would also add that it is vital that someone on your team take responsibility for keeping fire hydrants accessible as well. All property teams should also clear dumpster and trash areas as soon as possible after heavy snowfalls, as well as any common mailbox areas.

The final component to your Snow Removal Policy is to educate your Residents. We must train our Residents to understand that it is important that they wear proper footwear and outerwear while outside in the winter. Boots and shoes that provide traction are necessary in preventing slips and falls. Residents should also be told to help alert the Office when there are areas that may be icy or slippery. Let’s face it, as good as we are, we may miss something or ice may build up again once it was removed earlier in the day. I do not think it is unreasonable to ask Residents to stay indoors when there is blizzard or freezing rain conditions.

Once your budget is blown due to Overtime costs, then there is little you can do to gain a lot of it back, except learn from your mistakes and plan better for next year’s budget. It only adds to everyone’s stress levels to keep harping on the overtime costs. What will help the situation though, is to educate all your onsite team members regarding these costs. Ask their input on ways to cut costs in other areas. You might be surprised by the great ideas your team may come up with and contribute. Budget woes can actually become an exercise in team building if you trust your teams to stick with a reasonable Snow Removal Plan and understand there will be times when something’s gotta give, either the turn timeframe or the non-emergency work order completion. This is the one time of year that can make or break your team. It’s your decision as to what the end result will be. Trust me, having a team devoted to truly taking care of the property will also become one of your best resident retention and marketing tools you never knew you had.

In conclusion, set reasonable expectations for everyone so property conditon is maintained in a safe manner and your team is not unduly burdened by additional work. Ensure your team has a Go-To person for any questions and make them a proactive part of the Plan - value their ideas and suggestions. Provide hot chocolate and soup on days when they are out freezing their behinds but still working up a sweat trying to keep up with snow removal! Show them and tell them how much you appreciate them!