The city is considering a change in its snow-removal policy following a blizzard of complaints from residents about ice-packed streets in early January.

Several members of Kettering City Council said they received an earful from citizens about the condition of residential streets following two late December snowfalls.

They relayed those concerns in a workshop meeting with city manager Mark Schwieterman and assistant street superintendent Dave Miller.

“I had so many phone calls and emails about it, it was unbelievable,” Mayor Don Patterson said. “Our community has one of the worst reputations for snow removal. I’m tired of it. I want us to be one of the best.”

Schwieterman suggested a shift to salting all residential streets on “a storm-by-storm basis. We should err on the side of using resources.”

He added that not all snow events will merit a switch from the current policy of plowing and salting thoroughfares, connectors, intersections, hills and known problem areas, but not treating other residential streets.

The recent situation was an exception due to depth and consistency of wet snow, followed by extended periods of below-freezing weather. It left compressed packs of ice that didn’t immediately respond to salt when it was finally applied.

“We’re now going to make that decision at storm time,” he said.

Another layer of complaints came in when trash pickups in the Southern Hills neighborhood were delayed because Waste Management Inc. trucks could not access the alleys.

Council members Rob Scott, who represents District 1 in northeast Kettering, and Tony Klepacz of District 3, the south-central and southwest part of the city, said some of their constituents believe certain areas of the city are favored over others.

“I was on the phone for what must have been a hour with a man in the Wiles Creek area who said his neighborhood is always the last to be plowed,” Scott said.

“Should we tell a taxpayer he doesn’t live on the right street, so we aren’t going to salt yours?” Klepacz asked.

Because it took return visits to clear streets that weren’t salted promptly, Schwieterman said, “We spent more than we would have if we had salted.

District 2 councilman Joseph Wanamaker, a former city supervisor of streets, said the criteria for salting used to be that a street had to have a daily traffic count of at least 1,500 vehicles or have at least a 6 percent grade. “It’s hard for the average citizen to understand why their their street is snow covered when the next one over is clear.”

Schwieterman estimated it would cost from $8,000 to $15,000, “just on salt,” to treat all residential streets.

“This is a common theme, but that kind of snow is not something that happens 50 times a season,” Patterson said.