The city's winter control services, including snow plowing, sanding and salting could come in under budget for 2020.
A report headed to the city's operations committee on Jan. 18 indicates that as of the end of November 2020, there is an estimated surplus of $117,000. The actual year end result may differ from the figure headed to committee on Monday, as estimates were necessary in order to account for some outstanding invoices.
The actual surplus/deficit will be presented as part of the 2020 operating budget variance report that will be presented in the second quarter of 2021.
A relatively mild November that saw very little snowfall in comparison to yearly averages meant the snow removal crews had to complete a fraction of the work that they are used to.
"During the month of November, there were no winter events that required the full deployment of city crews and/or contractors," said the report presented to the operations committee. "Temperatures were generally favourable for the entire month."
In fact, according to the city's data, the 10-year average for snow accumulation during the month of November is nearly 40 cm. In 2020, the city saw just 15.6 cm of snow, a decrease of roughly 60 per cent.
The favourable temperatures also played a part in reduced calls for winter road and sidewalk maintenance as there were no freezing rain events during the month of November.
Under the umbrella of winter control services, city crews and/or contractors handle everything from snow plowing, sanding, salting, bus stop clearing, snow removal with loaders, snow dump operation and snow bank removal.
In addition to thousands of kilometers of roadways, crews are also responsible for keeping sidewalks clear, as well as maintaining ditches to allow for proper drainage in the spring.
"For the November 2020 reporting period there was minimal snow that resulted in a decrease in efforts required for plowing/sanding/salting roadways," said the report.
As far as clearing snow from bus stops and removal of snow banks, the city didn't have to do either during the month of November, and sidewalk maintenance was minimal over the course of the month.
The reduced amount of required snow plowing, sanding and salting in November resulted in a winter control budget variance of nearly $1.3 million from January to November 2020. According to the season budget, the city had allowed for $871,512 for plowing, sanding and salting in November, but actual costs came in just shy of $450,000.
The budgeted amount for the first 11 months of the year was just north of $6 million for the above listed services, but the actual cost from January to November was closer to $4.7 million.
The city has gone over budget in a few winter control categories; February saw nearly 30 per cent more snow accumulation than the 10-year average and costs associated with snow removal (clearing bus stops and snow banks) were around $516,000 over budget.
Winter ditching and spring clean up was also more than half a million dollars over budget according to the 2020 winter control summary.
The nearly $1.3-million surplus in snow removal, sanding and salting, however, had the city sitting with a surplus of $117,00 for their entire winter control budget.
Full report can be read here.
