Q3 Financial Update (2016) Public Works - Levy - Statement of Operations
(in thousands of dollars)

Variance Analysis (in thousands of dollars)

Compensation

The favourable year-to-date and forecasted variances of $1,500 and $1,377 are primarily due to: lower than anticipated usage of winter seasonal staff due to the mild winter conditions that were experienced in Q1; natural delays in filling vacant positions; not filling vacancies; and filling vacancies at rates less than budgeted.

Administrative

The favourable year-to-date and forecasted variances of $549 and $184 are primarily the result of a deferral of consulting work concentrated in Transportation Planning ($368) and lower general administrative expenses ($136), offset by an increase in legal expenses associated with the contamination cleanup required for the Helena Street chemical spill ($320).

Operational & Supply

The favourable year-to-date variance of $1,240 is primarily a result of lower than anticipated usage of winter sand, winter salt and organic de-icing material due to the mild winter conditions experienced in Q1 ($533) and a delay in spending related to Hired Equipment – Roadways ($702). These variances will be offset at year-end primarily by: increased usage of winter salt in Q4 ($169); higher Inter-Municipal Transit costs due to the implementation of two new bus routes ($640); and increased costs in Hired Equipment – Roadways ($871) related to emergency removal of Emerald Ash Bore trees, signal maintenance and winter maintenance, resulting in an unfavourable forecasted variance of $467.

Federal & Provincial Grants

The unfavourable year-to-date and forecasted variances of $263 and $350 are due to deferral of the Phase 2 Study on the South Niagara East-West Arterial Corridor and related provincial funding ($350) provided under the Investing in Ontario Fund.

By-Law Charges & Sales Revenue

The unfavourable year-to-date and forecasted variances of $1,280 and $1,176 are due to lower than anticipated signal maintenance revenues for work performed for local area municipalities.

Other Revenue

The favourable year-to-date and forecasted variances of $589 and $695 are primarily due to: fleet disposal proceeds from the sale of snow plows being in excess of those budgeted ($299); higher proceeds from licenses and permits mainly related to Niagara Wind Farms ($194); and other unbudgeted expense reimbursements ($162).

Community Impacts & Achievements

As part of the Region's Transportation Capital Program, a total of 65.2 lane kms of roadways were either resurfaced or reconstructed, 49.4 lane kms were resurfaced as part of the annual roads resurfacing program (9.4 lane kms of carry over work from 2015 and 41 lane kms under the 2016 roads resurfacing program) and 14.8 lane kms were reconstructed / added as part of other capital projects.

The Transportation Master Plan (TMP) has received tremendous public and stakeholder interest and input which will result in cost, policy, and process implications on transportation infrastructure and services in Niagara. Investigation and analysis of external resourcing and expertise support is currently being conducted in Q4 2016 to advance the TMP into 2017.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) aims to develop, implement, and enforce accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025. The AODA requires fare parity between conventional and specialized transit service providers by January 1, 2017. As specialized transit services cannot charge more than the highest conventional transit fares, Niagara Specialized Transit (NST) fares will be aligned to the current inter-municipal conventional transit - Niagara Region Transit (NRT) fares. The NST fares are currently based on progressively increasing rates depending on number of zones travelled. NST fares will be amended to bring them in alignment with the NRT system that is based on flat fare ($6 per adult ride; $5 per senior/student ride) and related fare products.

NRT introduced enhancements to the routes travelling between Niagara Falls and St. Catharines. Improvements to these routes were designed to eliminate duplication between NRT and routes offered by St. Catharines Transit and Niagara Falls Transit, as well as creating more efficient travel between the two cities. The existing route 50/55 that connects Niagara Falls and St. Catharines will no longer stop at the Outlet Collection at Niagara and instead will now provide direct access to Brock University with extended hours. This route will replace the previous Brock Rapid service provided by Niagara Falls Transit. Route 50/55 stops will now include Brock University, Niagara Region Headquarters and the Pen Centre.

In addition to the changes to route 50/55, Niagara Region Transit has introduced a new 40/45 route. This new route will connect Niagara Falls and St. Catharines with stops in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Stops along Route 40/45 will included the Outlet Collection at Niagara, the Niagara College Glendale Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fairview Mall in St. Catharines where travellers can connect with GO Transit Bus service. The new 40/45 route will replace the previous Glendale Campus route provided by Niagara Falls Transit.