Local officials in New Jersey say the mild weather this winter is a welcome relief.

Snowfall totals in New Jersey this winter are well below normal and far smaller than last year.

East Windsor Township Mayor Janice Mironov says that's helping municipal budgets.

"It's allowed us not to use some of our overtime and some of our salt and supply allocation. To the degree that we don't need to spend the money, we can either cancel it and put it back in the budget, we can transfer it for other use, we can let it lapse into future surplus. So it's a positive for purposes of our budget and our taxpayers."

So far this winter, the New Jersey Transportation Department has spent about $7 million on snow removal compared to the $48 million it cost to clear the highways last year.
Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson says less snow to deal with means highway crews can focus on other tasks.

"We're lighter on potholes because of less snow so that's good, but we still have the potholes. We're doing a lot more litter removal, graffiti, catch basins, it's the regular work that doesn't get done when it snows. When we have a snow event everything else stops so we fall behind on a lot of other things."