{"id":1453,"date":"2013-12-11T20:18:00","date_gmt":"2013-12-11T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rf.podcastfixit.com\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/"},"modified":"2015-06-01T19:41:25","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T19:41:25","slug":"baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/","title":{"rendered":"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Robert Frank<\/b>
www.thesuburban.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Near-record snowfall, soaring fuel costs and rising value-added taxes have pushed the cost of plowing snow way up in Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9, Mayor Maria Tutino told The Suburban.<\/i><\/p>\n

Council voted to pay $143,402.57 to Landcare Independent during the coming winter, a nearly 35 per cent increase over the approximately $107,000 that Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 agreed to pay last year.<\/p>\n

The amount is also more than 51 per cent higher than Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 paid in 2006, under contracts signed during the Montreal municipal merger. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen changes to GST and QST during that time,\u201d Tutino pointed out, noting that the amounts in the town\u2019s budget include those taxes. Today, the taxes add 14.975 per cent to the town\u2019s tab, compared with 13.95 per cent, seven years ago. <\/p>\n

Fuel prices have taken an even bigger bite out of the town\u2019s budget, she added. <\/p>\n

\u201cA litre of gasoline cost 78\u00a2 in December 2008,\u201d Tutino recalled. \u201cIn 2013, it\u2019s about $1.37. That\u2019s an 85 per cent increase during that period.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contractor in 2008 way underbid,\u201d she added. \u201cIt was a real sweetheart deal. The winter of 2007-2008 saw 371 cm of snowfall, the highest accumulation in recent history. The average snowfall is 218 cm. Citizens saw the cost of snow removal for their homes increase 30-40 per cent that year \u2013 and the town had just a 14 per cent increase. The winter of 2012-2013 was another biggie.\u201d<\/p>\n

A recent study by the University of Montreal corroborated that Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 residents have paid some of the lowest rates for snow clearance of the demerged West End suburbs.<\/p>\n

It cost just $2,623 per kilometre to plow Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9, reported the Centre for Productivity and Prosperity\u2014part of U of M\u2019s prestigious Haute \u00c9tudes Commerciales<\/i> business school.<\/p>\n

Only Beaconsfield ($1,911) and Senneville ($2,395) residents paid less per kilometre. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Westmount residents paid $20,745 per kilometre for their snow removal. On the West Island, the highest-cost suburb was Dollard des Ormeaux, at $12,065 per kilometre.<\/p>\n

Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9\u2019s snow clearance costs have nonetheless become acrimonious among Tutino\u2019s opponents during last month\u2019s municipal election.<\/p>\n

They objected to the town awarding the contract to Landcare, which was owned by city councilor Wayne Belvedere, who lost his bid for re-election, Nov. 3.<\/p>\n

Tutino acknowledged that Belvedere\u2019s company has cleared Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9\u2019s streets for decades. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cLandcare has been removing snow for Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 since the late 1970s,\u201d she said, \u201clong before former Councilor Belvedere was elected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMayor and council don\u2019t get involved in the [public contract tendering] process for contracts over $100,000,\u201d she underscored. \u201cThe law requires sealed bids. It\u2019s a two-part system: first contractors have to show that they\u2019re compliant with the requirements. If they are, then a second envelope is opened and the lowest bidder wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2008, Landcare\u2019s bid was dramatically lower than Meloche\u2014so much so that it was widely recognized that it was well underbid,\u201d Tutino continued.<\/p>\n

Quebec government documents confirmed that Belvedere was Landcare\u2019s sole owner until Sept. 23, 2013, when ownership was transferred to Gregory Belvedere.<\/p>\n

With the latest contract, Landcare has successfully garnered an unbroken string contracts from Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 worth more than $833,000 since 2003.<\/p>\n

Mayor Tutino emphasized that the firm was the low bidder on each occasion and that Belvedere always declared his personal interest in the company whenever the contracts arose during town council meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always complied with the law,\u201d she stated. \u201cHe refrained from discussion and voting during public town council meetings. In addition, during private caucus meetings, Councilor Belvedere left the room [whenever the contracts were discussed] so the rest of the council could decide whether to proceed or not.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
\n (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
\n m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
\n })(window,document,’script’,’\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js’,’ga’);<\/p>\n

ga(‘create’, ‘UA-45892555-1’, ‘robertfrankmedia.blogspot.com’);
\n ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Robert Frankwww.thesuburban.com Near-record snowfall, soaring fuel costs and rising value-added taxes have pushed the cost of plowing snow way up in Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9, Mayor Maria Tutino told The Suburban. Council voted to pay $143,402.57 to Landcare Independent during the coming winter, a nearly 35 per cent increase over the approximately $107,000 that Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBaie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent - Newscoverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent - Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Robert Frankwww.thesuburban.com Near-record snowfall, soaring fuel costs and rising value-added taxes have pushed the cost of plowing snow way up in Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9, Mayor Maria Tutino told The Suburban. Council voted to pay $143,402.57 to Landcare Independent during the coming winter, a nearly 35 per cent increase over the approximately $107,000 that Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-11T20:18:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-01T19:41:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"headline\":\"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-11T20:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-01T19:41:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":692,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/\",\"name\":\"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent - Newscoverage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-11T20:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-01T19:41:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/11\\\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newscoverage\",\"description\":\"newscoverage.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\",\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"editor robert\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/robert.frank.90834\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/editor-robert\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent - Newscoverage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent - Newscoverage","og_description":"By Robert Frankwww.thesuburban.com Near-record snowfall, soaring fuel costs and rising value-added taxes have pushed the cost of plowing snow way up in Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9, Mayor Maria Tutino told The Suburban. Council voted to pay $143,402.57 to Landcare Independent during the coming winter, a nearly 35 per cent increase over the approximately $107,000 that Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9","og_url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/","og_site_name":"Newscoverage","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834","article_published_time":"2013-12-11T20:18:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-01T19:41:25+00:00","author":"editor robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"editor robert","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/"},"author":{"name":"editor robert","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"headline":"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent","datePublished":"2013-12-11T20:18:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-01T19:41:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/"},"wordCount":692,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/","name":"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent - Newscoverage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-11T20:18:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-01T19:41:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2013\/12\/11\/baie-durfe-snow-clearing-costs-jump-35\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Baie d\u2019Urf\u00e9 snow clearing costs jump 35 per cent"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/","name":"Newscoverage","description":"newscoverage.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3","name":"editor robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"editor robert"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834"],"url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/author\/editor-robert\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4362,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions\/4362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}