Prepping for the Winter and the Budget
Prince George, B.C.- It may be the time of the year when the only ‘ice and snow’ on a person’s mind are the cubes in a glass or the ‘snow in summer’ flowers in a garden, but Prince George City Council meets this evening in a Committee of the Whole format to discuss ice and snow procedures.
Staff will be presenting an update on implementation of recommendations of the Mercury Report, a report that followed the snow removal nightmare of the winter of 2013/2014. The staff report this evening will look at operational recommendations, with the update on the recommended fleet improvements to come at a later date.
The report notes that while the new policy calls for priority one and two roads to be cleared within 48 hours, they didn’t always meet that target. The average completion time came in at 52 hours, largely because of back to back snowfalls.
Then there are the budget considerations. The snow removal levy raised $6.3 million this year, but January to March snow clearing has already eaten up $4.2 million dollars, and the average spent on snow clearing from October to end of December is in the $2 million dollar range, so barring a mild start to winter, the budget may be tight.
The report also indicates an expected increase in cost to ensure there are 10 graders available over the course of the winter. The 10 graders a must says the report, if the snow clearing targets are to be met.
The Committee of the Whole is being called upon to receive the report for information.
Comments
Did the city not want us to believe that the ‘nightmare winter of 2013/2014’ was caused by the unions during the negotiations…
since they know the budget is usually insufficient for snow removal, why are they not budgeting more for it?
If they ran their own personal budgets like they run the cities they would be broke in 6 months, and bankrupt in 12.
with this council be any different, I for now will withhold my opinion…..but my hopes are not too rosy
With every new subdivisions that is built within the city this only results in less snow clearing funding for the older established areas of Prince George. Should there not be a formula within the budget for every new street developed x amount of dollars will be allocated to snow removal.
Considering that snow removal like road rehabilitation is a separate line item on your tax bill, any increase in the budget means an increase in your taxes. So first and foremost we need to have the better service provided with out any increase in taxes. Good management, and proper planning, along with a late winter, should be able to get this done.
In any event now is the time to be looking at these types of problems, rather than wait for the first big snowfall, and then go into panic mode as has been done in the past.
Perhaps they’ve always talked snow removal in July. Or, they’re being a heck of a lot more proactive in gearing up for it. Refreshing.
We have numerous council members returning to council and they should know better… Anyone remember a year we didnt hear around mid November ” city snow removal budget used up” You would think members like Skakun, Koehler and Krause would remember every year they screwed up the budget for snow removal and do something about it..but they dont.. they all act shocked when we empty the budget…
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