So here we are, at the end of the warmest driest winter on record—and our city officials still find a way to overspend the snow removal budget! Now at $3.1-million over budget, and they have the gall to warn us it will be $4.5-million over budget if we get any more snow. How is this even possible?
Then in another spectacle of ineptitude and a glowing example of how out of touch this man is, he asserts residents of our city don’t want to de-amalgamate, and he isn’t sure if citizens would be ready to foot the “millions of dollars” it would take to do so.
Maybe if we weren’t encrusting out snowplows with diamonds and gold leaf the money needed to de-amalgamate wouldn’t be such an obstacle! —Dartmouthy
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2010.
wow…. 3 MM over budget on a winter like this one?
what is the fucking price of salt these days?
This whole city council has to be out in LA LA land, if this mild winter with one of the lowest snow falls on record has blown the snow removal budget.
Although to be fair I did have a plow out here go by ,plowing a completely bare road 5 times one day, after the road was already cleared !
So if these “contractors” get paid by the hour & they just keep driving whether there is snow or not, then it makes sense that all the money’s gone. Perhaps its time for the citizens of the HRM to call in complaints on these guy’s who are finished clearing snow, but continue to stay out racking up the big overtime, driving back & forth on already cleared roads…maybe its time to make this a straight time job only.
So put BIG IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS on all these trucks & we’ll have a way to identify those who are milking the system, when we complain.
Dunno, but if they didn’t lay 5 pounds of salt for every fucking flake, they could probably save a shitload of money.
I was shocked too when I heard they blew the budget on snow removal when it snowed like…5 times? What IF this was a typical winter, snow almost every day with several massive storms?
I also heard that they ran out of salt and bought it by the pallet at local stores.
maybe there is lead paint in council chambers…it made the romans go all squirrley
As for de-amalgamation, the politicos don’t want it, because all of those lawsuits over poor drainage causing massive flooding in homes throuighout Dartmouth can be re-opened.
Since amalgamation they can legally use the excuse that “that was a county-based system, we’re not responsible” when people try to sue or get proper drainage partially paid for by the HRM.
I for one would be happy to go back to living in “the county” for the ability to have a proper drain put in my backyard and not have to watch my dog swim through a lake or ice skate to go pee.
We keep letting pol’s dictate to us instead of the opposite, so I am starting to feel we deserve what we get…
I think it’s time for a tea party, a lynching, or a revolution – perhaps all three!
I heard this on the radio first thing this morning and it got me so angry I actually fully woke up… I was steamed up until I write this bitch. Still am.
Now maybe I should be thankful that the ineptitude of our political system works better for me than an alarm clock, but seriously…
o.p., peter kelly was a friend of mine in high school, please do not insult him by saying his brain is under budget.i will ask one question, how do you know he has a brain?
If you can do better run for office.
I did.
meh, I typically run away from office….
LOL Life sucks! 😉
Peter Stoffer is considering a run at the job in 2012 – will Gotham HRM still be breathing by then under the insipid leadership of Mayor Bumble?
Does anyone know where I can get a free rake?
Hey Hali, I have no rakes but I can definitely hook you up with a pitchfork!
Well, I know a girl who’s deadbeat loser boyfriend has no job, so she can’t afford a rake. I’ll mention the pitchfork. Thanks!
Just to give an idea of where some of the money goes for snow removal:
The contractors- each piece of equipment is on a monthly retainer, November to April, there’s about two million or so, without a snowflake even falling. Then, they’re paid an hourly rate when they are called out, and yes, if you see one of the contractors going up and down your road excessively, report it. There are some companies that try to take advantage of the city and go out too often or for too long, hoping they won’t get caught.
The city plows have to be maintained and kept up throughout the winter, the workers who drive those plows have to be paid. I’m not sure how that works, but I imagine they’re paid for the season and not just when they go out.
That’s just the basics, there’s more involved. I can’t see how Kelly could change these facts.
I suppose the city could hire fewer contractors so there was less equipment to pay for, but then you’d all be whining because your street didn’t get plowed quickly enough.
Ya, during one of the snow storms a plow drove through my street like 3 times, and it’s not a frequently driven on street *eye roll*
Hey MS…. I thought I saw you the other day but then I had to assume it wasn’t you. At least I hope it wasn’t you.
That’s all well and good TDF but the costs you list would be the similar year after year after year, excepting for inflation of course. Then why FFS would this year’s costs go beyond budget for $3M. Either the counsel didn’t increase the budget based on inflation and messed up or the contractors are taking advantage of the city in which case the counsel is messing up by not following up on accountability.
I would also argue that the plows and trucks required less maintenance and less fuel for this year’s mild winter. All REDUCING costs in a real world. Where did all of the money go??????
It could be a number of things. I do know they hired more equipment this year. Possibly, like you said, maybe the budget wasn’t as large as last year. I don’t know that detail. I just was laying out the basics for those to see that just the opening numbers are large. Some people seem to think that if there’s no snow, then there shouldn’t be anything paid all winter to anyone. That’s not the case. There’s costs no matter the lack of snow.
Thanks TDF. I hope you didn’t take it as attacking you. ☺ I understand that retainers have to be paid during every season.
However, I would like the Mayor and the Council to explain what those ‘number of things’ are that you mention. With such a pitiful excuse of a winter the city’s costs should have gone down, not up and over by $3M. Perhaps the mayor bought a bunch of snowblowers at $24K each to be used at nearby seniors’ residences.
I understand there are contracts to adhere to, people whose wages depend on these services, etc. etc… I am not putting any blame on the operators, just the “operators” (which is generous) of our fair city.
You would think, logically that is, that standard operating costs covered in the contracts, would not place the entire budget more than $3 million into the red!
This happen because the pepe wh wen out and bought snow removal machines in order to contract to the city still want to make maximum profits, as do cty drivers want their overtime…so we see trucks plowing bare streets, sleeping in ther cabs, and putting three layer of salt/sand on the same road in an hour when it’s plus 5.
corruption
look like TDF had already pointed this out….good post
This is from Peter Kelly’s column:
“No matter what the rest of this season throws at us, the money in our winter budget will be spent. That’s because 80 per cent of it is tied to staff salaries and contracts with outside companies who do our sidewalk plowing and snow- and ice-removal.
Retainers alone cost us almost a million dollars, just to have outside contractors available for when storms arrive. Sidewalk clearing contracts cost another $5 million.
If you’d like more information on HRM’s snow removal policy, go to our main web page (http://www.halifax.ca/) and click on “Snow.””
Which makes no sense. If 80% of the budget is already accounted for, how did we go so far over? If 80% of your expenses are known expenses, how can you so badly predict the other 20%??
Well fellow bitchers. I’m off to Cuba for fun in the sun and lotsa lotsa lotsa rum back on the 25th. Adios.
have a few for me bro^^
adios tim.
SnipeHunter:
I have felt attacked on this forum one or two times, but no, this wasn’t one of them. All is good, thanks 🙂
Enjoy Tim
Sarey, not only that, but the 3 or 4 times we DID have snow, I STILL saw tons of sidewalks covered…. so not only are they basically completely fucking ignorant about the remaining %20 but they are shelling out the %80 up front for crap service.
There has to be a way to hold them accountable… say only %30 up front and then deductions for crappy service from the remaining %50 which they will get once the sun is here to stay…
I heard a rumour that some contractors hired by the city to apply salt/sand to city streets (mostly in the sub-urban and rural parts of the city) have been stealing salt. This may be one reason why the city used all of this resource this year.