(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Alessia Proietti

Way to Increase budget

Red Deer councillor proposes utility bill charge for snow removal

Nov 30, 2022 | 9:35 AM

Councillor Victor Doerksen suggested adding a charge to resident utility bills as a way of increasing the City of Red Deer’s snow removal budget at deliberations on Tuesday.

Following resident feedback of the 2023-24 Operating and Capital Budgets earlier this month, multiple community members voiced concern over the City’s snow removal process.

“It is now nine days since our first big snow fall and still no sidewalk plowing,” said Anders resident Wilf Massey in the feedback.

The City’s current budget is roughly $5 million for snow removal under the Parks and Public Works Department. Administration proposed a similar amount for the following two years’ budgets, with slight increases for inflation.

The City’s snow plough schedule works under green routes for busses, ploughed first, followed by grey routes for non-bus routes under the council’s Snow and Ice Control Policy.

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However, Councillor Doerksen questioned if the budget could be increased by changing the policy to create a snow clearing model similar to that of utilities. Like garbage pickup, he suggested if a route-related charge could be added to residents’ utility bills.

“If we move that to a similar kind of set up for the snow and put the money in a reserve that we could access and keep it outside of the main budget and put it into a utility budget, could that work?” he said.

City Manager Tara Lodewyk said she expects council to propose an amendment on this item in the upcoming days for budget deliberations.

Parks & Public Works Manager Greg Sikora said that while the City doesn’t plough on weekends, their intention is to clear all routes within 15 business days.

He said as the City does not have all the required equipment, private operators are contracted to fill the gaps.

Sikora stated that community support is needed to ensure cars follow no parking signs, as this slows the process down for the City.