GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - The fall leaves are just starting to change, but Monday the talk in Green Bay was about snow.

City workers got hands on training with new equipment.

Paula Whiting is one of the first plow drivers in Green Bay with a new high tech truck.

"Number 24 is mine" she says with a smile. "I guard quite nicely. I like to keep it on the road, keep it running. I'm proud. It's nice to know that when we have some newer equipment because some of the stuff we have is so outdated".

The machine mixes salt with water to create a brine. It can be used to pre-treat roads before a storm hits.

"3/4 of salt brine is water, so we're looking at not having to use as much salt as well"

explains Tony Fietzer, Street Superintendent for the City of Green Bay.

The city also invested in equipment on 16 trucks to wet salt before it hits the road.

Until now, up to 30 percent of salt simply bounced off the road. Nearly 100 percent of wet salt sticks to the road.

Wetting the salt is also much better for the environment because it leads to less runoff.

Just one teaspoon of salt in five gallons of water can impact wildlife.

Green Bay expects to save around $85,000 each season with the new equipment.

"We are trying to make it safer while still saving money" says Fietzer.

The budget also benefited from a mild winter. Green Bay has 6000 tons of surplus salt from last season. They had to order much less salt for this winter, a savings of about $300,000 for the city.

"That money is a general fund money that will go back and help try and balance the city's budget" says Fietzer.