Snow removal will be more expensive in Decorah this winter

Snow removal in Decorah last winter cost the City of Decorah over $60,000 in materials and contracted labor.

That figure is about to get higher.  City Street Commissioner Dave Tollefson says the price of a ton of salt has gone up from last year's figure of $66,68 to this year's total of $79.90.  That's more than a 20 percent increase.

Worse yet, the city used 451 tons of road salt last year--so the $13.22 a ton increase will be multiplied quite a bit, depending on how bad the winter will be.

Tollefson says the city also used 1,500 tons of sand costing a total of $12,000 last year and paid $18,000 to have snow hauled away from the downtown area.