As Old Man Winter maintains his icy grip on the Maritimes, municipalities and private contractors are watching costs continue to climb.
Dave McCutcheon is a private truck driver contracted by the city of Saint John. The snow has narrowed the city’s streets, kept residents in their homes, and at one point, led to a local state of emergency
“We got the snow all at once,” he says. “It was just unexpected.”
On Saturday afternoon, McCutcheon joined multiple crews in Saint John’s North End for more, round-the-clock snow removal.
“There’s three of us driving this one truck. I got a driver who drives at night. One that drives the day. And I drive when they want days off.”
From the city’s perspective, a snow removal budget is calculated based on an average of past winters. However, the cost of hiring extra trucks and paying for overtime during the 2014-2015 winter season will make it the most expensive year ever for snow removal.
City councillor Shirley McAlary says Saint John is only one of many communities who are in the same financial predicament.
“I know that all of us understand that it’s going to be way, way over budget,” she says.
And being that budgets are so stretched, McAlary says she isn’t optimistic the city will receive disaster assistance when it applies for it.
“Everyone in the province has had a lot of snow and the only place we could get additional money is from the province,” McAlary explains. “And I think if they gave it to Saint John, they’d be obligated to give it to every other municipality. So, I don’t old out too much hope of getting extra money.”
If provincial monetary relief has dried up, taxpayers will be left to pay the lion’s share of the cost.
“And I don’t know where it’s going to come from,” McAlary says. “But, it’s got to come from somewhere. Somebody’s got to foot the bill.”
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.
