The winter account is nearly empty in Guldborgsund Municipality.

The winter budget is running out in Guldborgsund Municipality

This has been a tough winter for budgets, especially in South Zealand and the southern islands of Lolland and Falster. That’s why the winter budget is nearly depleted in Guldborgsund Municipality.

A road near Gundslevmagle in Guldborgsund Municipality, where around 80 percent of the winter budget has already been spent, including on keeping roads clear of ice and snow. (Photo: © Mads Raagaard)

By Christoffer Kjær Nielsen ([email protected]) 35 minutes ago

January has been the coldest in 16 years, and it’s certainly felt in South Zealand and the southern islands of Lolland and Falster.

The icy month has put a strain on the winter budgets of some South Zealand municipalities.

Frost and snowfall have meant extra work with snow clearance, and that’s not cheap.

“There has been a lot of snow in January, which has really taken a toll on our winter budget,” says Trine Kristoffersen, who is the head of the Guldborgsund Municipality’s winter service center.

The winter has been particularly tough on the finances of the winter service in Guldborgsund Municipality, with the budget showing an expected overshoot of around 10 million Danish kroner.

“We estimate that we’ve already used about 80 percent of our winter budget, which stands at 7.6 million kroner,” says Trine Kristoffersen.

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Snowplows strain the budget

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This is due to the unusually harsh January, where snowplows and salt machines have dominated the roads.

The budgets are meant to cover the entire year until 2026, so it’s generally difficult to predict how things will look in November and December.

That’s why there’s no guarantee in Guldborgsund Municipality, where the budget has been particularly hard hit and could cause problems, according to Trine Kristoffersen.

“If this continues, we risk overshooting our budget,” she says.

It can be challenging to determine how much to allocate year by year in municipalities, where there are also priorities for the elderly and schools. The winter budget is naturally influenced by the weather, notes Per Nikolaj Bukh, who is a professor of economic management at Aalborg University.

“One solution could be to set the budget higher to avoid exceeding it,” he suggests.

It’s not just Guldborgsund Municipality that’s struggling with budgeting due to the severe winter weather. The same applies to Stevns, Næstved, and Vordingborg municipalities, where reports indicate a tough January for the municipalities’ winter budgets.

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