A budget deficit for snow removal is forecast for 2008. Since the first of the year, 256 cm of the fluffy white stuff have already fallen on the city. On average, Laval removes 200 cm a year from its roadways and side streets. Trucks eat up a major portion of the annual allocation.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Laval's 2007 snow-removal budget in hole for $8 million
It was inevitable. The financial report the city is to table in March will confirm it. The $28 million set aside for snow-removal in 2007 was not enough, with costs exceeding the provision by $8 million.
Laval island was on the receiving end of 328 cm of snow in the winter and late autumn of 2007, with more than half of the snow falling between October and December 31, according to figures released by city hall. In December alone, 112 cm had to be removed from city streets and roadways.
Snow removal budgets are estimated on an average of 200 cm a year. By comparison, the city’s Public Works Department ended 2006 with a surplus of $600,000 in its snow removal allocation.
Surplus
“While it’s true that 2007 was an exceptional year for snow falls, it was also an exceptional 12 months for the issuing of permits,” says Ville de Laval spokesperson Marc Laforge. The $8 million additional snow removal costs will be absorbed by the surpluses enjoyed in other areas, he adds.
The impressive amount of snow which has come down on Laval since January leads to the conclusion that the deficit situation will recur for 2008. Environment Canada reports an accumulation of 256 cm since the first of the year, not counting the 20 or so cm that fell this past Wednesday.
By the truckload
The carting away of snow by the truckload is what drives the cost up, explains Marc Laforge. The higher the snowfall, the more trucks are needed to carry it off. Significantly smaller snow falls are usually handled at little cost (road clearing without big trucks, packing, thawing).
Snow blowers are handled by city blue collar workers, trucks by sub-contractors who bill on a fleet basis. Packing of snow after minor snow falls is handled by city workers and private contractors, in equal proportions.
Photo: White
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Météo: Laval, 24 juillet 2008 / 20°C
/ Couvert
/ Vents: 17 Km/h / Humidité relative: 88 % 
Steven Guilbeault - Chronique environnement
Richard Cléroux - Le fouineur politique
