By Laura Aiken
Ottawa’s warmest winter on record has melted away the profits of some — but not all — snow removers.
Several contractors say they’re making more money because of the weather.
“As a contractor I’m actually making more…but the guys aren’t making as much,” said Jimmy Falfetto, owner of CTCP Landscaping.
Contracts guarantee customers pay his company a fixed rate, regardless of how many hours of snow removal take place, but he’s shelling out less money to his underworked plow operators — same money in, less money out.
Sometimes paying the same for less work is unavoidable, said Steve Jones, manager of a
7-Eleven store on Gladstone Street.
He has a contract he renews each year with B&C Landscaping.
“It’s the cost of doing business. There isn’t really a way to avoid it. Sometimes we get screwed, sometimes they get screwed.”
Yvan Grenier, manager of Centretown Road Service, said some of his business is contract and some is by the hour.
“As a business, we are feeling the effects somewhat,” he said. “It’s the operators who are really hurting.”
Centretown Road Service
hasn’t laid off any employees, but has reduced the number of hours for its employees, who it pays by the hour, Grenier said.
Randy Valios, owner of Acorn Property Maintenance, said he runs his primarily residential snow-removal business on monthly contracts. He has some full-time staff and some people who are on call. He pays his staff by the hour.
He said the weather hasn’t affected his business too much.
“It’s been okay, just a bit slow. It’s nice to have a chance to catch up.
“Last winter was a very tough winter — very long hours,” said Valios.
There were about 50 centimetres of snow this December, compared with about 130 centimetres during the same month last winter, Grenier said.
“Usually we are out twice this much,” he said. “Last winter we were out 24 hours a day.”
Last winter, Ottawa received about 25 per cent more snow than normal, said David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada.
This winter, Ottawa has only received about 60 per cent of the snow that could normally be expected by this time.
Phillips said this has been Ottawa’s warmest winter on record by an average of about 1.8 C.
“Normally records are broken by a fraction of a degree…this has clobbered the record.”
For snowplow operators, the shattered record amounts to one equation — less snow means fewer hours, which equals to less money in their pockets.