Nutter: No Regrets Closing Government Offices Despite 'Big Forecast Miss'
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Saying he will always err to the side of safety, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is standing by his decision to close government offices despite a "big forecast miss."
During a news conference Tuesday at City Hall, Nutter said his office tried to wait until the "latest possible time" to close government offices. Nutter said a similar decision-making process was made with regards to the closing of Public and Archdiocesan schools in Philadelphia.
The storm "did not turn out the way it was anticipated," Nutter said, but he said citizens needed ample notice to make personal decisions such as child care and transportation.
Nutter stressed that he had no regrets.
"The overriding component of our decision-making is public safety. And so I'd rather be wrong with virtually nothing happened, as opposed to being wrong with 14 inches of snow shows up and we're not ready for it. I'd certainly rather than be prepared and disappointed with inconvenience, than under prepared and surprised with any kind of tragedy," Nutter said.
Nutter said in the middle of the night -- once it became more clear that the storm here was a bust -- it would have been logistically difficult to change those decisions.
"It's certainly at that point impossible to reverse a decision such as a government closure in the very early, early hours of a new day. So it is a bit of timing issue and a balancing act."
Streets Department crews were out salting 1,000 miles of roads and doing some plowing in the Far Northeast, where a few inches of snow were reported.
Nutter said those who had trash pick-up canceled Tuesday should hold their trash until next week. In addition, Nutter said regular trash pick-up will resume Wednesday.
