When city staff looked into the progress of street clearing efforts during February’s series of snowstorms, important information was missing or marked down incorrectly in their reports more than half the time, according to .Ìý
Frequent omissions or errors included missing street names, not noting down how many kilometres were inspected, getting the date or time wrong and not signing a name on the report.
The storms dumped 53 centimetres of snow on the city. The removal process took several weeks, suffering delays from recurring plow breakdowns and planning problems, and was called a “failure” by the mayor.
Bungled reports from staff made these issues worse and may have made the city vulnerable to legal challenges, auditor general Tara Anderson found.Ìý
These “field audits” are one of the “main tools” transportation services staff use to “hold contractors accountable for achieving required service levels,” according to the auditor, adding that had they been properly filled out, they could have punished contracted plowers financially for underperforming.Ìý
They can also be used as evidence in slip-and-falls lawsuits, she said.
“The limited detail in the reports raises concerns about the adequacy of the inspections and the quality of documentation,” said Anderson. “Proper documentation is critical, as field audit reports are used to evaluate whether the desired pavement outcomes were achieved.”
In March, council ordered an in-depth review of the city’s snow clearing operations after widespread criticism from the public. In addition to this audit, which is the fourth in a , reports are expected from the city and transportation services managers.ÌýÂ
In a statement Friday, Mayor Olivia Chow’s office said she accepts the recommendations in Anderson’s report and pledges to improve snow removal next winter. “Ultimately, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½nians expect snow to be cleared — we are going to get it fixed so this doesn’t happen again.”Â
In February, Chow publicly criticized staff for overstating how the snow removal was progressing.
“It’s not working. Don’t tell me it’s working well,” she said.
During a press conference, the mayor pointed out an icy street she said staff had assured her had been cleared.
“I’m sorry, it’s just not true,” she said.Ìý
The other main problem indicated in the auditor general’s report is “ongoing” GPS dashboard reliability issues, which hinder the city’s ability to monitor contractor performance.Ìý
The auditor provided an example of GPS information the city received during the storm appearing to show contractors having skipped over entire neighbourhoods, which staff would then have to spend time verifying because the GPS data wasn’t trustworthy.Ìý
“Significant effort is spent manually comparing expected routes with GPS information, which is labour-intensive and time consuming,” the report added.Ìý
The auditor’s office has previously highlighted the need for better GPS tracking. , it wrote that neither it nor city management could verify that “service levels were met by these vehicles or whether the contractor payments for these audit samples were correct” because less than a third of them had “functioning” GPS devices.Ìý
In 2023, the city launched a GPS dashboard pilot to give transportation staff a real-time overview of plowing efforts, but this project continues to be marred by “inaccurate data, slow performance and overall unreliability,” according to the auditor.
Coun. Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½-Danforth), who chairs council’s infrastructure and environment committee, said Friday that staff need to “smarten up.”
“You can’t say to somebody your street’s been plowed — and you look out the door and it’s not happened — just because it shows on the GPS map,” she said. “If this was the end of school, the auditor would still be giving an F on the GPS file to transportation.”
The city promised to do better after the 2022 blizzard, so the Star requested data to determine whether ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½’s snow response has gotten any better.
The city promised to do better after the 2022 blizzard, so the Star requested data to determine whether ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½’s snow response has gotten any better.
The auditor general also found that contractors were using lower-capacity trucks than needed for snow removal. One of these trucks actually got stuck in the snow and needed to be pulled out by another piece of equipment.Ìý
The city agreed last winter to allow contractors to use the smaller trucks without any reduction in daily rates, even though the original deal called for the use of bigger vehicles. Contractors said they needed to do this because of “global supply chain issues.”Â
The auditor recommends the city review whether there is a “systemic issue with contractor performance” due to using the smaller trucks. She also wants the city to require contractors to finalize their routes before winter starts and upload them to the GPS dashboard.Ìý
The city is three years into its performance-based pricing structure with contract plowers. It assessed them $381,000 in financial penalties in 2024 for underperforming. The city penalized them a further $43,000 in damages last year “primarily due to contractors departing late.”
Damages and disincentives for this year are still under review, but are approximately $63,000 and $195,000, respectively, and subject to a dispute resolution process.Ìý
The auditor general’s findings will be reviewed by the audit committee next week and at the city council meeting July 23.
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