City's Snow Budget Exhausted

For the first time in three years, Cambridge has exceeded its snow budget, but the city will continue to plow the snow, officials said yesterday.

The city used up its annual $175,000 snow budget about two weeks ago and has since spent $50,000 to $60,000 more, said Assistant City Manager Richard Rossi, adding that the snow budget covers sanding and salting as well as snow plowing.

In order to replenish the snow budget, the city will transfer money from another fund, Rossi said. He and City Manager Robert W. Healy will decide within the next few weeks exactly where the money will come from, Rossi said.

During the past few winters, which have been milder than those one, there has been a $20,000 surplus in the snow budget, said Rossi, adding that the left-over money goes to a general fund and is appropriated during the next fiscal year.

River Walking

Although this winter has been unusually cold and snowy, officials at the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) said that it is still not safe to walk or skate on the Charles River, even if it appears to be completely frozen over.

"With this weekend's cold weather, you might be able to cross the Charles today, but there is always a chance that the ice in thin on top and you'd fall though," said Alan McSweeney, a manger at the MDC.

An MDC policeman last week rescued a child who had fallen through the ice into the Charles, said McSweeney, who is in charge of Simoni Rink in Cambridge.

Although it is forbidden to walk of skate on the Charles River, there are no special patrols in the area, said McSweeney, adding that the "no skating" signs on the banks of the Charles are supposed to deter people from crossing it on foot.

However, City councilor Sheila T, Russell said she saw three people walking on the ice last week.

"I couldn't believe it," Russell said. "One person was carrying a child. The ice hadn't been frozen that long."

No Casualties

MDC officials said that there have been no fatalities this season Cambridge due to people walking on the Charles. "There have been no problems this year" around the MIT and Harvard area, said MDC police officer Joseph Brogna.

McSweeney said the MDC's 22 skating rinks in the Boston area help to keep people off the ice. "The rinks are opened a wide range of hours, so most kids skate in the rinks," McSweeney said.