Mild winter in Central Indiana hurts private businesses

The mild winter has been a blessing for many, but it is hurting many businesses that depend on all the snow and slush.

Central Indiana is looking at another warm winter week and Fox59 got some different reactions to that, depending on which side of the snow removal process you are on.

City and State street departments are saving money, but private businesses said they are taking a hard hit.

In Indianapolis, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has spent approximately $3 million on snow removal to date this season.  The total is nowhere close to the nearly $9 million spent last season.

INDOT is also saving on man power, fuel and supplies.  They said they can save and store all that salt and brine they are not using now to get a jump start on next winter.

"This year, throughout the district, we’ve spent about $13.2 million on salt and usually we’re spending $35 million a year on salt,” said Harry Maginity with INDOT. “So, consumption’s been considerably less because this year through we’ve only had about 9 inches of snow.”

To date, snowfall totals for the year have reached approximately 9.1 inches.  Last year by February 20, there was 24.4 inches of snowfall.  The average snowfall by February 20 is 21.4 inches.

The lack of snowfall this year has helped City and State department saves, but private businesses said they are hurting.  Fox59 spoke with landscapers who said their winter revenue comes from plowing.

"A lot of decreased profits from what we’re usually seeing,” said Brian Franco, Franco Landscaping. “Obviously, snow removal is the biggest profit margin in the landscaping industry. Sure, we do others stuff, but snow removal is the biggest profit margin and when you don’t get it, you don’t get that extra revenue to push things through.”

Franco said they are down about 15 percent and said another friend in the industry is taking the same hit.  However, they are getting a jump start on the other side of the business, landscaping. 

Franco said they will start mulching and fertilizing much sooner this year than in previous years.  Brickman Group Landscaping said they will also begin earlier, as well as other local companies who said they know from experience not to base their entire business projections on the snow removal side of things.