Groomer Pay?

Highflyer

Active member
Cash Money floating around a Club is a huge problem. Payroll is the only option.

It sounds like you have never spent 10 hours in a Groomer?

100% correct. The biggest hurdle to overcome is changing up what has been done for the last 20 years. Change is hard.....the mentality of well I was never paid so why should these new guys be. It is the only way it will survive in areas that can't find the right volunteers.
 

POLARISDAN

New member
So a 200% increase in trail passes is the only way to come up with about another $9 hour to pay groomers operators? I’m sorry but I disagree. I know Wisconsin better then Michigan but I’m pretty certain the money is there to pay operators. Change is hard, but this just needs to be put in the budget and funds reallocated.

I base this number on this..

$10 cheeseburgers
$20 movie per person
70$ round of golf
$5 game of bowling
9$ martinis
6$ beers
100$(or more) ticket to any game
Etc

So to pay ONLY 50$ for a season of riding is way way underpriced and needs a boost..as long as it's dedicated and not pissed into these garbage politicians misguided programs

Pd
 

Highflyer

Active member
I base this number on this..

$10 cheeseburgers
$20 movie per person
70$ round of golf
$5 game of bowling
9$ martinis
6$ beers
100$(or more) ticket to any game
Etc

So to pay ONLY 50$ for a season of riding is way way underpriced and needs a boost..as long as it's dedicated and not pissed into these garbage politicians misguided programs

Pd

Would that be the states problem and not the clubs? Do the michigan clubs get $xxx amount per mile they groom from the state of Michigan? That's the way it works in Wisconsin. The way I see it, this is a club problem, not a state problem. Now the clubs can try to work with the state, but in the end it is up to them to find the solution.
 

Skylar

Super Moderator
Staff member
I base this number on this..

$10 cheeseburgers
$20 movie per person
70$ round of golf
$5 game of bowling
9$ martinis
6$ beers
100$(or more) ticket to any game
Etc

So to pay ONLY 50$ for a season of riding is way way underpriced and needs a boost..as long as it's dedicated and not pissed into these garbage politicians misguided programs

Pd

If you're paying 6 dollars for a beer, you need to move.
 

sno

New member
I think the real challenge will be finding someone in WI that is sober enough to get paid to groom late at night.

Does workmans comp come into play as well once you start paying an employee?
 

sjb

Member
Went to a Packer game about 8 years ago. Didn't buy a beer, too expensive.

Want to say a "standard" beer is around $9. A "craft" beer like Leinenkugel's is around $11.

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I think the real challenge will be finding someone in WI that is sober enough to get paid to groom late at night.

Does workmans comp come into play as well once you start paying an employee?

Assuming that is in jest. My brother is a groomer for his local club and can promise you he does not drink a drop when grooming. He usually jumps in the tractor after dinner with his family and will run until 2 am, then back to work at 7 am. He can't do all that drunk/hung over.
 

1fujifilm

Well-known member
Went to a Packer game about 8 years ago. Didn't buy a beer, too expensive.

If you drive to the game, make your riders pay the $65-80 for a parking pass that originally cost $40 and get liquored up in the Lambeau lot.
Either way the game is expensive, at least you can cook burgers/brats too. A burger with fries is $14 in the stadium.

Bear
 

90s

New member
wis grooming maint does not allow groomer operators to be paid from their mileage maint. the clubs that do pay their operators are somehow doing it with club cash. maybe mich should look at how WI funds their trails, seems to be working pretty good here.
 

ddhanna

Active member
wis grooming maint does not allow groomer operators to be paid from their mileage maint. the clubs that do pay their operators are somehow doing it with club cash. maybe mich should look at how WI funds their trails, seems to be working pretty good here.

In WI, labor for grooming is reimbursed and included in the published equipment rates and included in the maintenance payment. Non-grooming labor (brushing, signing, etc.) is reimbursed at $8 per hour and is also applied to maintenance. Clubs can spend their maintenance money any way they choose including paying groomer operators.
 

snocrazy

Active member
Here is the real deal accurate info from Alger SORVA.

Visitors Bureau - The $ that come from them do not pay the operators. This money is used for improving area trails. Equipment, Rent, Natural Gas....

Here is how the Grant Program works.. (taken from official letter)
Note that this does not cover the cost of tractors or major break downs.

The reimbursement rate for the 2018-2019 snowmobile season will be $4.75 per mile. This is a .16 increase from last season.
According to the December 3, 2018 report of the Midwest's average diesel fuel rate, there was an 8.342 percent increase in fuel costs from December 4, 2018. The 2017-2018 Cost Analysis revealed that the state-wide average fuel rate was $1.92 per mile. Last year's fuel rate was paid at $1.92 per mile in the reimbursement rate formula during the season. The fuel portion matched exactly so there was no fuel adjustment at the end of the season.
The percent increase is being calculated to the fuel component of the reimbursement formula. Labor and routine maintenance remains the same, $2.15 and $0.52.
The 2018-2019 Cost Analysis will be completed at the end of the grooming season and will be used to determine if a fuel cost adjustment should be warranted.
The reimbursement rate of $4.75 per mile will have an effective date of December 1, 2018 until March 31, 2019. Please use this new reimbursement rate when submitting monthly reports and reimbursement requests to the Department of Natural Resource's snowmobile field staff.

Alger County SORVA -----
Out of that 4.75 per mile 1.25 per mile is paid to groomer operators. (labor and routine maintenance)
A typical run is 40 miles. Some guys go 50 or 60 miles in a 14 hour run.
So a 40 mile run in an evening will get you 50$

We currently groom 102 miles of grant funded snowmobile trail.
We also have a couple of local spurs which local businesses fund.
Examples - Holiday Inn Spur - Wetmore Spur between FFH13 (Holiday gas station) to the East Miners Trail along M28
 

snobuilder

Well-known member
- - - Updated - - -



Assuming that is in jest. My brother is a groomer for his local club and can promise you he does not drink a drop when grooming. He usually jumps in the tractor after dinner with his family and will run until 2 am, then back to work at 7 am. He can't do all that drunk/hung over.[/QUOTE]
Yes...I was talking about your relatives.
 

snocrazy

Active member
Cameras and GPS take care of that.
We are using the following service - https://gpstrackit.com/vid-fleet/

No shenanigans....
going out and pulling over to sleep saying you groomed
snowmobile crashes in to groomer, try to blame the groomer/operator
operator logs more miles than actually groomed
groomer breaks down we know exact location
driver changes mid route - being able to see when getting close to meeting spot on cell phone

I feel the DNR should require them and spot check grant holder reimbursement paperwork. Compare what is turned in - logged with gps history. The web interface makes reporting a breeze.

I hate hearing about people grooming drunk. It is dangerous for so many reasons. Not to mention the damage to the equipment that is sure to occur.
 

sjb

Member
Here is the real deal accurate info from Alger SORVA.

Visitors Bureau - The $ that come from them do not pay the operators. This money is used for improving area trails. Equipment, Rent, Natural Gas....

Here is how the Grant Program works.. (taken from official letter)
Note that this does not cover the cost of tractors or major break downs.

The reimbursement rate for the 2018-2019 snowmobile season will be $4.75 per mile. This is a .16 increase from last season.
According to the December 3, 2018 report of the Midwest's average diesel fuel rate, there was an 8.342 percent increase in fuel costs from December 4, 2018. The 2017-2018 Cost Analysis revealed that the state-wide average fuel rate was $1.92 per mile. Last year's fuel rate was paid at $1.92 per mile in the reimbursement rate formula during the season. The fuel portion matched exactly so there was no fuel adjustment at the end of the season.
The percent increase is being calculated to the fuel component of the reimbursement formula. Labor and routine maintenance remains the same, $2.15 and $0.52.
The 2018-2019 Cost Analysis will be completed at the end of the grooming season and will be used to determine if a fuel cost adjustment should be warranted.
The reimbursement rate of $4.75 per mile will have an effective date of December 1, 2018 until March 31, 2019. Please use this new reimbursement rate when submitting monthly reports and reimbursement requests to the Department of Natural Resource's snowmobile field staff.

Alger County SORVA -----
Out of that 4.75 per mile 1.25 per mile is paid to groomer operators. (labor and routine maintenance)
A typical run is 40 miles. Some guys go 50 or 60 miles in a 14 hour run.
So a 40 mile run in an evening will get you 50$

We currently groom 102 miles of grant funded snowmobile trail.
We also have a couple of local spurs which local businesses fund.
Examples - Holiday Inn Spur - Wetmore Spur between FFH13 (Holiday gas station) to the East Miners Trail along M28

It is interesting on the formula, but might be part of the issue in some areas I have rode this year. It appears the groomers that I am assuming are getting paid, are paid on a per mile basis. Quality would the necessarily become secondary. Two different places this past winter in the central UP I saw where we were some of the first tracks after the groomer was out (on the trail before 8 am). Both cases you see the trails had the drag ran over the trail, but the bumps remained. I ran into one of the groomers and stayed back while he groomed to observe. Simply put, in my limited knowledge of grooming, he was going too fast and not cutting down the bumps. There was not lack of snow either.

If these operators are paid on a per mile basis, the initiative to have a "good" trail is not there. And to be honest, if I am paid on a per mile basis, versus per hour or quality trail, more than likely doing the same thing.
 

snocrazy

Active member
Cameras..... :) Having the right people groom. We have a good group of SNOWMOBILERS grooming who care.
Just put some joker out there that is in it only for the money, you get a bs job out of em.
If using a light drag I feel you have to use the front blade. People dont do it or are afraid of it.
We use the heavy dubie drags that cut incredibly. Also use the front blade.
I have seen those groomers too.... I call them wavers.... Go out make it look like you are grooming and wave to all of the snowmobilers.
 
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