THUNDER BAY – At Thunder Bay City Hall, it is likely being called the winter that never ends. The snow clearing budget for 2014 is already spent. That is leaving shortfalls for any additional snowfalls, and leaving major snowbanks and messy streets and sidewalks across the city.
“We run on a five year average for the snow clearing budget,” stated City Manager Tim Commisso. “The past two winters have been well above that average in snowfall”.
In good news for city residents, the current shortfall does not mean snow clearing is over for the year.
Thunder Bay has a total of $7 million in what Commisso states is “Winter control” in the budget. Right now what the City Manager has to do is find about $3 million in the city’s budget for clearing snow.
In a statement issued today the city says, “The City of Thunder Bay are taking immediate and proactive steps to contain 2014 costs to mitigate the impact of back-to-back extraordinary winter control seasons”.
“Municipalities across Canada and the United States are dealing with budgetary issues stemming from the winters of 2013 and 2014 together with other extreme weather events,” said City Manager Tim Commisso. “All municipalities have an obligation to be proactive and make the necessary 2014 budgetary changes to accommodate such events in the future.
“By beginning the process now, the City is being prudent, and Administration is confident that 2014 service levels and budget targets will be met.”
Due to the weather, the City’s 2014 winter control budget across all areas has been exhausted, and the City Manager is undertaking several immediate cost-control measures to offset the costs and help ensure an end-of-year 2014 Budget surplus. They include:
· Ongoing review of all hiring, and deferral where possible.
· Deferral and/or elimination of all discretionary departmental and corporate spending, including non-essential travel.
A number of other restraint measures were identified and will be included in a report to be presented to City Council on April 28.
Similar to many other cities, these past two winters, with their unusual and prolonged combination of extreme cold and large amounts of snow, put significant pressure on Thunder Bay’s operating budget. The weather required the City to undertake costly snow removal procedures. Diesel fuel prices rose, and natural gas consumption also significantly increased. Spring cleanup costs – such as pothole repairs, catch basin cleaning, and street sweeping – are also expected to exceed their budgets.
“Unusual weather events are becoming an increasing concern for municipalities across Canada,” Commisso said. “They’re not just limited to winter; for example, the 2012 flood was also caused by such an event – in that case, it was a very large amount of rainfall in a very short time. The City must take a long-term view, and work to make sure we are financially prepared for more extreme weather events going forward.”
