Old Man Winter's early season wrath has created a snow removal budget headache for the town.
After spending its entire $40,000 budget for contract services last year to clear snow, the town -- wanting to create a reserve plan for snow removal for 2014 -- set aside only $20,000 during its fall 2014 budget deliberations for outside private contractor help.
The unforeseen early winter onslaught will mean the town will have to put its idea to create a reserve plan for snow removal on hold and hope the last half of this winter and the first half of next winter do not bring as severe weather and the accompanying snow removal needs as was experienced last November and December.
Craig Teal, the town's director of planning and operational services said if the town has to go above the $20,000 for outside contract snow removal this year he will present his case to council and then take the necessary funding from operating reserves.
ìWe would go to council to acknowledge that there has been a deviation from the approved budget, and we also have to identify a source of funding,î said Teal.
ìUnfortunately we get into these circumstances and we have an operating reserve we can go to. We will do what it takes to deliver the service. It looks like at some stage we will be going back to council for a budget adjustment.î
He said in past years the town was able to keep up with snow clearing with its own staff, and with the funds set aside for outside contractor assistance. He said there was ìnothing magical about the $40,000 levelî and that the intent was to have a ìlittle bitî of money in this year's budget for private contract help but not the same amount in previous years.
ìTo deal with the winter, and it could be horrible and we could be spending a lot, or it could be mild, and we end up spending only a little and we bounce all over,î said Teal.
He said the intent was to put money aside for the reserves that would ultimately negate the need to make large budgetary adjustments for snow removal during bad weather years. If the year finished with money left over from its budgeted fund for outside contract services it would go into the reserve to top it off for a future date, said Teal.
ìFrom a management perspective that is why we are trying to set up a (snow removal) reserve so we weren't constantly doing massive wobbles on the budget,î he said, adding the plan in 2014 to create the reserve was caught in unforeseen circumstances. ìIt is just bad timing in terms of Mother Nature this year.î
