Stormy weather ahead for municipal budgets?

• Date: 01 March 2020
• Author: Robinson, David

Last month, the City of Greater Sudbury was $6.1 million over budget on its snowplowing budget. By the end of winter, that number will be over $7 million. That's not a small overrun: we are talking about having under-budgeted by 40 per cent on $17 million.

It could be a fluke. Some years get more snow than others. Maybe there was a surplus the previous year. In fact, there was a $2.9 million deficit last year, too. And the most recent surplus I could find was in 2012. Since that time, Sudbury has under-budgeted for snow removal by more than $18 million. It looks like a job for Sherlock Holmes.

1 ran a simple linear regression that shows an eight-year upward trend in snow removal deficits for the city. The deficit has been rising by $650,000 a year. That is deficits, not spending. The city budget sets its budget for snow clearance to the average of the last five years. That strategy may have...