$2,250

That is all that remains from the $959,000 that Watertown officials budgeted for snow plowing this year.

Two major snow storms have all but used up Watetown's snow plowing allotment, so Tuesday night the Town Council approved spending beyond the original snow and ice removal budget.

Town Manager Michael Driscoll made the request Tuesday night in an last-minute addition to the council agenda. If the town avoids any more snowfall, the Public Works will not be need to plow and the extra money will not be needed.

If more snow does fall, however, the town has two options to pay for removing it from town streets and sidewalks, Driscoll said: allow spending beyond the original budget or add the expenses to the Fiscal 2014 budget (next year's budget).

The total snow and ice removal budget is $1.019 million, Driscoll said, which includes $959,000 for personnel and snow and ice removal, plus $60,000 for capital spending.

Snow plowing costs vary greatly from year to year, Driscoll said. Last year (Fiscal 2012), with few snow storms, Watertown spent $399,420 total, while in Fiscal 2011 the town shelled out $1.498 million to remove snow.

Watetown's five-year average spending on snow and ice removal from 2008 to 2012 is $1.138 million. Since 2001, the most spent was $1.792 million in Fiscal 2009, and the lowest was $323,865 in Fiscal 2002.