Snow-clearing costs $6.9M over budget in 2021

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This article was published 27/01/2022 (1510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The hefty dumps of snow that fell during the final months of 2021 cost millions more to clean up than the City of Winnipeg had predicted.

Council’s finance committee is slated to cast a final vote Friday on a call to provide public works with an extra $6.9 million beyond its 2021 budget, which would be largely devoted to covering that cost.

Public works actually spent $11.2 million more than expected on snow clearing and ice control last year, but managed to find $4.3 million in savings to offset the expense.

After abnormally high levels of precipitation, the head of the finance committee said the extra costs were expected.

“With the increased snow in December and the requirement to clear that snow, this was not a surprise. The city clears the snow according to the policy standards set and not according to the budget,” said Coun. Scott Gillingham.

A city report notes 29.5 centimetres of snow fell in November, followed by another 37.8 cm in December.

Gillingham said he doesn’t believe the overrun indicates the city should simply increase the snow-clearing budget above its current $35-million level in future years, arguing that would produce negative side effects for taxpayers.

“To increase the annual snow-clearing (budget) beyond $35 million would force us to cut other city services or increase taxes to pay for it. At this point, I do not support asking residents to pay more taxes or to live with less services to increase the snow-clearing budget,” he said.

The city is typically able to cover extra snow clearing costs through surpluses in other departments, though COVID-19 pandemic costs and revenue losses will prevent that option for 2021, he said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga