OTTAWA -- The city of Ottawa has found some green in its snow clearing budget, after posting deficits in previous years.
A new report for the finance and economic development committee shows winter maintenance operations posted a $3.1 million surplus in 2020.
The 2020 city of Ottawa budget included a $78 million budget for winter operations.
In 2019, there was a $21.3 million deficit in the winter operations budget. Staff blamed increased snow accumulation and increased freeze-thaw cycles for the deficit. In 2018, the City of Ottawa posted a $7.2 million deficit in its winter maintenance operations due to increased snow accumulation.
Director of Roads and Parking Services Laila Gibbons told the Transportation Committee in December that 2020 was the first time in "many, many" years the city didn't run a deficit in its snow clearing budget.
