Surge in snowfall puts Timmins snow removal budget $3M in the red

A report headed to city council Tuesday evening said that the 2026 snow budget in Timmins is expected to be $3 million more than forecast. (File)

Officials in Timmins say the city’s snow removal budget has already been spent – well in advance of whatever snow falls in November and December.

A report headed to city council Tuesday evening said that the 2026 snow budget totals $7,909,200.

“We have spent $5,941,646 to the end of Q1 and $8,251,261 to mid-May,” the report said.

“This puts us already $342,061 overbudget to mid-May, with November and December to go. We are projecting to be over budget by approximately $3 million by the end of the year.”

That figure will only hold if the city receives normal amounts of snow, “and not what we have had over the last few years,” the report said.

So far this year, Timmins city crews have removed 42,265 truckloads of snow. That compares with 30,287 in 2025; 10,323 in 2024; 15,264 in 2023; and, 29,684 in 2022.

The figures were included in a larger report that updated city council on the financial picture after the first quarter of 2026. So far this year, the city has collected 49 per cent of its estimated tax revenue, or $49,103,596.

The number of pothole repairs completed so far has plunged – largely because of the work being done on the Connecting Link.

“We have drawn the full amount of the Golden Manor Redevelopment loan of $75,749,732,” the report said.

“This will remain a construction loan until we formalize the terms of the loan, and it becomes a debenture and we start to make payments starting in early 2027.”

The total city budget for 2026 is about $215 million. Read the full report here.