PennDOT has intensified its fight against ice and snow by giving a handsome raise to municipalities in Chester County and nearby regions to help clear the state roads in their boundaries, writes Michaelle Bond for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

PennDOT is providing a modest local tax break by raising subsidies by up to 34 percent in 94 municipalities in the area.

“We upped our rates to make participation attractive to them,” said John Krafczyk, assistant district executive for maintenance at PennDOT.

Over the last decade, PennDOT has paid $45.5 million to municipalities for road clearing in the five-county region. The state agency used to pay $883 per lane mile. Now it is paying between $1,023 and $1,183 per lane mile depending on the highway type.

However, not all municipalities plow their own snow, as some find the payments too low or do not have the right equipment.

Oxford Borough has been plowing the state roads within its bounds for more than two decades.

“If we didn’t do it, we’d have to bypass everything and rely on the state to keep the town open,” said borough manager Brian Hoover.

Read more about the snow clearing in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.