Snow removal, ice control, potholes contributing to $10.6M city deficit
CBC News | Posted: September 9, 2015 6:01 PM | Last Updated: September 10, 2015
Despite mild winter, millions more spent on snow and ice removal
Edmonton is on track to end the year with a $10.6-million operating deficit, due to higher costs for road sanding, pothole repairs and vehicle and equipment maintenance.
Figures presented to council on Wednesday show the city spent $15 million more than budgeted on snow removal and ice control, due to new guidelines for those services.
Although there wasn't much snow last winter, transportation general manager Dorian Wandzura said crews had to deal with many episodes of freezing rain.
Costs for spring cleanup and pothole repairs went $2.8 million over budget. The city also lost $2.8 million due to tax appeals and other taxation adjustments.
Vehicle and equipment maintenance work cost an additional $2.2 million.
These shortfalls were offset by some areas where the city spent less than expected, such as staffing, costs due to the delayed opening of the Metro LRT line and fuel for buses and city vehicles.
Mayor Don Iveson said getting the city's books back in the black over the short term will depend on how much snow falls before the end of the year.
As the city approaches budget season, council will face some tough choices, given the economic downturn in Alberta.
"Everybody's got a little bit of economic jitters," he said. "I think our fundamentals remain strong. We saw job growth again, unemployment drop in the city again, in the August numbers. And so that's encouraging.
"But over the medium to longer term, obviously there's still great uncertainty in the province and out there in the world."
But it won't be an easy task to keep the budget from growing, given that residents don't want to see cuts to services, he said.
"I'm still hearing from Edmontonians, they want their roads fixed," Iveson said. "I'm hearing they want services. And so, how much flexibility we'll have is always limited by citizen expectations."