There's only about a month until it's technically spring in the Northern Hemisphere, but it's hard to think about that with all this snow.

That's what Department of Public Works crews are focusing on right now, including Utica's DPW Commissioner David Short.

"For us, every storm we have to deploy every resource. We're a small department, so all hands on-deck," said Short.

Despite many municipalities facing budget restraints due to COVID-19, Spectrum News is told snow and ice responses haven't really been affected in some cities.

The Syracuse Mayor's Office said COVID-19 did not cause any major budgetary cuts related to snow and ice control.

And in Utica, "small stuff here and there, but nothing major taken out of my budget, no," Short said.

However, Short said COVID-19 has caused some other financial issues.

"With COVID, yeah it creates a little bit more challenges," he said. "Now we're budgeting for PPE equipment, personal protection equipment. Puts a little bit of a strain on our budget at times."

Short said it's always a challenge to know exactly how much to budget because the DPW's work is as unpredictable as the weather.

"You can't use the same playbook for every storm. We have multiple concepts of what we want to do, but it all depends on the storm, and really we're shifting as the storm goes on," he said.

Short said the city of Utica exclusively puts salt down because it doesn't clog the catch basins. He said the city buys it from the state, and is obligated to buy at least 7,000 tons of salt a year.

Anything left over can be stored for the next season.