SAVE ITfor a SNOWY DAY BY PATRICIA BRAWLEY, CMCA, AMS, PCAM ADVENTURES IN SELF-MANAGEMENT: BUDGETING FOR SNOW REMOVAL I n a recent discussion of financial operations at a self-managed association, a professional property manager stated that budgeting for snow removal is a crapshoot. The comment made me realize that even industry experts sometimes need to reconsider how they approach determining and budgeting for variable operating expenses, especially snow removal. For self-managed associations in New England, it is a challenge to determine how much money to set aside for this expense each year. For some self-managed boards, the temptation is to use last year's budget number and assume that if the snow removal expense is greater, it can be blamed on Mother Nature. But just like common area fuel costs that are affected by warm and cold temperatures, plugging in a random number for snow removal will not provide the funds needed to pay the association's bills. Determining the budget for snow removal should be handled by following the general rules for estimating annual expenses. 36 CONDOMEDIA