Cleveland's Department of Public Works Director Michael Cox compared a snow-belt city running out of salt to a swimming pool running out of chlorine: it just shouldn't happen.
"You have to have salt," said Cox. "Our intentions are to never run out of salt. So we put things in place to make sure. When we get to a certain level, we order more."
Cox said that frequent deliveries from local Cargill Salt Mines keep the city's average level of salt near 10,000 tons.
And despite a rise in the cost of salt across the region-- the Ohio Department of Transportation prices the average ton of salt at $63, more than double last year's rate--Cox said he doesn't anticipate the city will exceed its $3 million salt budget.