A report from Saskatoon City Administration, going to the Governance and Priorities Committee Tuesday, says the cost of the snow clearing from the December back-to-back snow events could be as high as $20 million. The cost is partly due to inflation for fuel and hourly rates.

The report suggests other financial strategies are needed to fund the city’s snow response. Normally reserve funds are used but money in reserves is already going to address a projected $8.3 million deficit in 2022.

City administration is now recommending Saskatoon City Council borrow the money to pay for the immediate cost of snow removal, and then add the cost of repayment to property taxes while building-in base funding to ensure there is money available for future weather events.

The unusually large dump of snow during the last week of December led to the city executing the Roadways Emergency Response Plan to clear the streets.

If the city took the approach of adding the cost to property taxes, it would mean a levy of 0.75 percent to property taxes each year for four years starting in 2024. The levy would also build up $8.4 million worth of base funding by 2029 which the report says, “could then be utilized for annual service level improvements as well as base funding/reserve contributions for the Snow and Ice Emergency Response Plan.”