Before more snow hits Erie, it was a day of prep for township employees.

Tim May, one of the Harbocreek Township Supervisors said, "Fuel is topped off, we have material in, trucks are in tip-top shape. They are ready for whatever Mother Nature may deal to us, but it's of a kind of wait and see."


Even though it's only the second week of January, those at the May said they have made a pretty big dent when it comes to their man power and resources for the winter season.
According to May, they have seen an increase in their salt and fuel usage. "Normal year we probably go six to seven hundred ton of salt, this year we are at nine hundred to one thousand ton of salt. So considerable increase. That dollar amount is about $55,000, once again, it is where we are. Fuel, since the snow season started around thanksgiving holiday we are probably about twice the amount of fuel that we normally use up to the middle of January", explained May.


The new year means a new budget for the city of Erie, and officials said they are starting the year off in a good place. According to Jeff Gibbens, the Bureau Chief of the Streets Department for the City of Erie "The fiscal budget just turned over, so we are in good shape with that. We are up on the salt a bit, we have gotten a little bit more of that than we have gotten in the past few years, but we have had that money in reserves for that, but everything besides that is going pretty well."


They too are ready for what could be a long few days ahead filled with lots of snow removal. According to Gibbens, "We are going to go back into our storm fighting mode and attack the storm by when it comes, if it comes during the day, we will be in the inner city first making our way out, if it comes during the night, we will start at night in the outlying areas and work our way back inside the city when the morning hours hit."

Gibbens said the best thing that residents can do to help them is to follow odd and even parking and by leaving plenty of space for plows to get through.