Snow Management Reserve Report to be considered by City Council

Prince Albert City Council will consider a report from Administration Monday, March 28, 2022, that reviews expenses related to the snow management reserve fund. During budget deliberations, Council took note of an ongoing deficit in the snow management reserve and requested further information to understand how snow management is budgeted for and what accounted for deficits in the fund.

The report from Administration goes through the expenses dating back to 2014 when a reserve fund was set up to help account for fluctuation in snow management expenses. The early years of the fund saw surpluses accumulate in the reserve but back-to-back years of high snow accumulation and major snow events and winter storms resulted in ongoing deficits.

The budget was increased to account for increased costs, but there has not been a break in difficult snow years since 2018.

In 2022 in particular, Prince Albert has been faced with a challenging snow year. Record snowfall lead to narrow driving lanes and sightline issues which created urgent safety concerns. There were also large temperature swings causing deep rutting and difficult driving conditions.

"There was an impression that because there was a deficit, we were slowing down our operations," said Mayor Greg Dionne. "This isn't the case. Our crews respond to whatever winter conditions exist in a year. The job needs to get done."

In challenging years crews need to put in additional hours and at times contractors are called in to move snow when there is a major snow event or snowstorm.

"In 2022 the snow has been relentless," said Mayor Dionne. "Crews put in long hours and that's just the reality of what was required. In some years it will mean deficits, but we have to make the roads as safe and accessible as possible."

Crews are now focusing the majority of their efforts on targeting areas prone to spring flooding. Known areas are being targeted first. Residents are also asked to prepare their homes for the spring melt. To learn more about how to prepare a home for spring melt visit: https://www.citypa.ca/en/living-in-our-community/basement-flooding-and-spring-runoff.aspx

To learn more about how the City's snow management expenses view the report on the City Council Agenda page that will be available on March 24, 2022.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Mayor Greg Dionne
(306) 953-4300