Last year’s massive ice storm cost the City of Abbotsford millions of dollars, according to a budget update presented to council this week.
Digging out from, and repairing everything broke by, the late-December storm helped increase 2018 expenses by around $2 million. Those figures do not include the costs incurred immediately after the storm, before the new year began.
Nearly two-thirds of those costs were borne by the city’s transportation department, with the remainder inflicted on Abbotsford’s parks.
Airport expenses also were $178,000 higher than expected, also due to the storm.
But aside from the continuing expenses from the not-so-wonderful winter, the rest of the budget update was filled with good news.
Higher-than-average revenue from permits, grants, fees and other sources more than made up for the increase in expenditures.
The city also expects to make millions more in investment revenue, thanks to higher interest rates and having more money invested.