2025 Budget - Public Works

The Public Works Division is responsible for delivering a wide range of services including winter control, pavement maintenance and cleaning, and forestry maintenance. Staff provide fleet repair and maintenance services seven days a week on a 24-hour basis for all client groups. Emergency repairs are made on demand to ensure the performance of fleet units for essential services.

Solid waste collection, while it is performed by Public Works staff, is shown in the budget under the Environmental Services Division to better reflect its funding from the Waste Management Reserve Fund.

Administrative costs are funded through other activities based on an overhead percentage charged on direct Public Works labour incurred. These activities include Public Works activities, other City divisions’ activities, as well as work performed for outside customers.

Equipment costs are charged directly to activities as utilized by applying an hourly rate. These are, in effect, internal rental rates, which offset the repair, maintenance and replacement costs of the equipment.

Traditionally, surplus funds for the Winter Control activity have been transferred to a Winter Control Reserve to be used in a year when the City experiences severe weather events. The balance of the reserve is $478,000 and represents approximately 9.6% of the 2025 budgeted winter control expense of $5 million.

The Net Requirement for the Division is budgeted to increase 5.7% and is the result of approved salary and benefits costs, market increases in material costs and internal equipment costs. The new service area of Lily Lake has increased the Winter Control budget. The increased service level for Multi-Residential Waste Collection, as approved by Council with Report MOENV24-033, has also increased operating costs for 2025. The 2025 budget also includes the annualization of positions approved for 2024 with the opening of the Source Separated Organics program and in-house snow removal.

This Division has requested new staff positions not included in the budget. These requests can be found in Section 4 Staffing Requests not included in the Draft 2025 Budget.

The Public Works Division has requested new staff positions not included in the budget. These requests can be found in Section 4 Staffing Requests not included in the Draft 2025 Budget.

Capital budget

Asset management of vehicles and equipment is based on life-cycle costs. Although vehicles and equipment are scheduled for replacement based on anticipated usage and conditions, final decisions are made only after a complete mechanical and financial analysis is undertaken.

Funding is provided from the Fleet Reserve based on contributions from Operations. Alternative fuel vehicles will be researched and utilized where work tasks and equipment usage support their use.

The municipal sidewalk inventory totals 400 kilometers. Life cycle costing provides a base line performance measure to verify if replacement schedules and funding are sufficient to meet the established life cycle. The 2025 budget provides funds to replace approximately 3,800 linear meters of sidewalk or approximately 1% of the existing inventory. Sidewalk reconstruction reduces the need for ongoing maintenance cost and minimizes the City's risk exposure.

With approval of Report MOPW23-001, snow plowing services for City facilities are performed by City staff for municipal lots beginning with the 2024/2025 winter season. This project includes the final phase of the fleet acquisition required to perform those services.

In 2017, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change identified that an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) would be required to operate the municipal snow storage facility located at the Wastewater Treatment Plant on Kennedy Rd. Preliminary works have been undertaken and a submission made to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks for their review and comment through their Technical Division. It is anticipated that this will be a multi-year project that will result in an ECA for the snow storage facility operations and maintenance.

Modifications to the current snow storage facility will be accommodated which will include a recommended storm water pond. In conjunction with this project, there will be a managed forest plan for the Kennedy Rd woodlot located adjacent to the snow dump location. The intention is to improve and prolong the life of the woodlot area.

Through 2022 and 2023, continuation of the ECA process and consultation process occurred to support the design in 2024 and approval applications for anticipated construction in 2025. The City has previously made an application for funding through the Natural Infrastructure Fund (NIF) for the project. Pending the outcome of the funding application the timelines for the project could be impacted to secure required funds for the project.

Interactive Budget

Explore the City's budget using the interactive OpenBook feature, including expenses by department and division as well as a breakdown of what a typical residential property taxpayer pays per $100,000 of assessment.

• Expenses page - Public Works in OpenBook

The full budget information is available in the Draft 2025 Budget book.