(ARA) – When heavy snow is in the forecast, kids aren’t the only ones looking for the first sign of white flakes, wondering what their fate will be. Public officials and the people who work for them are just as anxious because they know children’s parents and their other constituents will judge them by their snowstorm preparedness.

Public perception often turns negative when a city, county or state does not have enough plows, salt and workers to make its roads clear and safe. This winter’s headlines have made many people aware that snowstorm snafus can symbolize a government’s ability, or inability, to take care of its citizens.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is still hearing about his handling of a December snowstorm, followed by the snowiest January since the city started keeping records. He, and other big-city mayors know of Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic’s failed re-election bid in 1979 after 18 inches of snow blocked city streets for weeks, preventing garbage collection and creating traffic chaos.

“The lesson for public officials is simple: Be prepared,” says Morton Satin, vice president of science and research at the Salt Institute, which recommends cities have a year’s worth of road salt on hand before winter begins.

When public officials are ill-prepared to deal with the weather, the effect trickles down to everyone, and impacts the most those who can least afford it, a recent study shows. “Lost wages of hourly workers account for about two-thirds of the direct economic impact of a major snowstorm,” says James Gillula, managing director of IHS Global Insight and the principal researcher of the study conducted on behalf of the American Highway Users Alliance. “Among all workers, hourly wage workers can suffer the most painful economic losses and the indirect economic effects of their lost wages can ripple through the economy.”

Planning for the worst-case scenario is key, says Greg Cohen, president of the American Highway Users Alliance. “The benefits of preparation far outweigh the costs because the costs can be staggering when the Big One does hit,” he says.

Among other things, preparation means having an emergency plan and an ample amount of road salt.

“Salt is the strategic material for winter to keep us mobile and safe,” says Satin. “Public officials should be investing in proper storage infrastructure for salt and they should have on hand at least a year’s supply of salt before the winter begins. The worst time to ask for emergency road salt is during a winter storm.”

Such preparation would mean government spending during an era in which transportation budgets are under extreme pressure. “It may be tempting to roll the dice hoping for no significant snow or ice, but the Highway Users Alliance study shows that is pennywise and pound-foolish,” Satin notes. “The costs of gambling on the weather can go far beyond government to include the broader public, especially small businesses and hourly wage earners, who take the biggest hit when dangerously icy roads force closures.”

When entire states are examined, the impact of just one day of impassable roads can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the economic impact study conducted by IHS Global Insight.

According to the study, the impact of just one lost day lost to snow is enormous:

* Wisconsin, $149 million

* Maryland, $184 million

* Massachusetts, $265 million

* New Jersey, $289 million

* Illinois, $400 million

“Heaven forbid if a mayor or governor is out of town, vacationing in a warm climate, when their citizens back home are buried in snow,” Satin says. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was on a Disney World vacation while his state dug out of a massive storm in December. Making matters worse, the state’s second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, was off with her family in Mexico.

In January 1987, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, Jr., was attending the Super Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., when his city was hit with a big storm. When the mayor finally returned, he surveyed the city by air, in a helicopter, infamously declaring, “We’re not a snow town.”

“The message of this winter is that every city needs to be a snow town,” Satin says.