Abstract
In recent years, fluctionations in annual snowfall possibly because of global warming pose financial risks to municipalities that are facing tight budgets. It is impossible for municipalities to secure in advance the budget to meet an unspected increase in snow removal costs due to heavey snowfall. Meanwhile heavy snowfall occurs, the municipalities have to secure the budget to remove the snow even if the amount exceeds municipalities' budgets. In such a case, prefectural or national goverments financially support the municipalities, however, there have not been definite rules how municipalities and the government would share the exceeding cost. This study identifies how municipalities have secured budgets to treat roads after heavy snowfalls to seek a way to establish the rule. This study also examines the potential of a model which have been proposed by the authors to estimate snow remocal costs of municipalities.
