Sudbury — A mild winter and cost savings related to COVID-19 have helped Greater Sudbury post a $3.8 million budget surplus for 2021.
A report headed to the finance committee Nov. 15 said the bulk of the surplus is thanks to the winter control budget, which is $3.4 million under budget due to favourable conditions in the first half of the year.
In recent years, the winter control budget – which includes snow plowing, sanding and salting, among other items – has come in over budget because of severe weather.
The city received 66 per cent more snow than usual in 2016, and winter control ended up $2.3 million over budget; in 2017 it was $850,000 over, and in 2018 it was $2.4 million.
The string of shortfalls peaked in 2019 when the snow removal budget hit a $6.1 million deficit.
It was increased in 2021 by 9.8 per cent to $22.4 million.
The environmental services budget – which includes the city landfill, recycling and composting services – is also under budget, by $1.1 million. Most of that amount is due to a reduction in certain programs because of COVID-19. In addition, sales of recyclables were $310,000 higher than forecast thanks to an increase in prices for recycled material.
On the other side of the ledger, revenue from casino gambling is $1.2 million less than forecast because Gateway was forced to close due to COVID-19.
The city is also short about $500,000 because of a drop in revenue from Provincial Offences Act fines and another $580,000 in revenue was lost because of delays in implementing red light cameras.
Greater Sudbury is currently going through budget deliberations for 2022, with early forecasts anticipating a property tax increase between three and 3.2 per cent, with the option of a special levy of 1.5 per cent dedicated to road and other infrastructure improvements.
The city's total budget for 2021 was $641 million, of which 48 per cent is funded through property taxes. The proposed budget for 2022 is $654.6 million.
Read the full report here.
