DeKalb County has plan to replace aging snowplows

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Highway Department is asking for County Board approval to spend about $646,000 to purchase snowplows to replace aging ones meant to help clear area roads during winter storms.

According to DeKalb County documents, on Thursday the DeKalb County Board Highway Committee will consider a plan to purchase a pair of snowplows, including the attaching frames, hydraulic systems, wings, spreaders and pre-wet tank systems for $330,746 per plow. The request also would require DeKalb County Board approval.

In a statement to Shaw Local News Network, DeKalb County Board Chair Suzanne Willis said the purchase would help ensure longevity for county equipment.

“We are not buying more snowplows; we are replacing snowplows that are reaching the end of their useful life (costing more to repair than to replace),” Willis wrote in an email.

DeKalb County Engineer Nathan Schwartz said he’s asking for two sets of snowplow equipment because the county did not receive any bids sought similar equipment in early 2023.

Schwartz also said the truck accessories have also not been immune to inflationary pressures. They were $121,000 in 2021, Schwartz said. At that time the county could purchase a truck chassis, or metal frame, and outfit it with snow equipment for $224,000.

“That was three years ago and then availability to buy the microchips, to anything else you could imagine, contributed to a sharp uptick in prices,” Schwartz said.

This year, DeKalb County could purchase and outfit two snowplow trucks for $646,000, or $323,000 per truck and equipment set.

“So just about a $100,000 increase, or not quite a 30% increase over three years, which is way higher of an average cost of inflation than we had scene previously,” Schwartz said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:06 p.m. Jan. 31, 2024, to correct the headline. The county is not increasing the number of vehicles in its fleet, but is replacing old ones.