Public Works seeks $347,000 from contingency to cover snowstorm pedestrian access costs

Joseph Cabetta, representing the Department of Public Works, asked the Howard County Council to approve a $347,000 transfer from the contingency reserve to cover unanticipated costs incurred during the FY24 snowstorms. "We are requesting a transfer of $347,000 from the contingency reserve for unanticipated costs that were incurred during a snowstorm," Cabetta said, adding that the services were primarily for pedestrian access to county buildings rather than for public roads.

Cabetta was joined online by John Seefeid, chief of performance and innovation for DPW, and invited council members to ask questions. No substantive questions were posed in the hearing; Chair Young said the council had already asked sufficient questions the previous week. The transcript records the request and the council's acknowledgment but does not include a vote.

Next steps: the supplemental appropriation was presented during the public hearing; any formal action would appear in subsequent legislative sessions or votes recorded outside this transcript.