Snow Plowing and City Services

I think that snow plowing is a good illustration of the balance that we, as citizens, must create between taxes and services.  Face it--Some of the people who complain about their property taxes going up are the same people who call the City when their street isn't plowed after a 1" snowfall.  Those snowplows cost money and we must pay the drivers too, and pay them overtime if we expect them to work nights and weekends (when most major snowfalls seem to occur).  If we want to continue receiving the excellent snow removal services that we have, we must be willing to pay for it.

For the most part, I think that snowplowing in the city of Manitowoc is very good.  It is not perfect, of course, and it is easy to be critical.  But I look at the lousy job I have done keeping my own walkways clear and I have come to appreciate how hard the job of the snow plow drivers is.  It snows, then it rains, then it freezes, then it snows again, then some melts, then it freezes again--You have to love Wisconsin!

Of course I have some ideas of how we could make our snow removal operations a bit more efficient.  To start, a winter parking ban with teeth should be established.  We can't plow efficiently if we have to keep going around parked cars!  There is plentiful off street parking in the city, so this ban should not create the kind of hardships that it does in cities like Milwaukee and Chicago.  I would also like to look at some of the operational and policy aspects of our snow removal.   

Has my argument made a perfect snow angel or should I be thrown in a snowbank?  Sled on over to the discussion board.