Union: Mount Pearl is Wasting Valuable Taxpayer Dollars on Contracting out Snow Clearing

MOUNT PEARL, Newfoundland and Labrador--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The City of Mount Pearl has once again contracted out the work of municipal workers to a private company, Farrell’s Excavating, wasting taxpayer money on snow clearing services that are likely to never be used.

“After municipal workers went on strike two years ago, Mount Pearl contracted out part of our snow clearing, claiming the contractors would support us if there was a bad weather event like Snowmageddon in 2020,” explained CUPE 2099 President Sherry Fitzpatrick, “but they were never actually used. The people of Mount Pearl have had their hard-earned tax money spent on a service that was never performed.”

On October 30, 2024, the City of Mount Pearl awarded a tender for $216,000 to Farrell’s Excavating. The offer is per use, so the amount can increase or decrease depending on usage, however, there is a $100,000 minimum required, even if Farrell’s Excavating is never used. Farrell’s Excavating had a previous contract with Mount Pearl for snow clearing support that was awarded in November 2022 for $531,875.

“If there’s one thing everyone knows about Mount Pearl, it’s that they have amazing snow clearing and that work is done by our municipal workers, not some private contractor,” said CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador President Sherry Hillier. “Even when we got buried in snow last year, those contractors were never called, so why offer another tender? It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Councilor Jim Locke told reporters that he thought the municipal workers were doing an amazing job,” continued Hillier, “so my question is why is that money not being spent to support the public services that actually need it? Why not spend that $100,000 on creating good, permanent jobs for the people of Mount Pearl who can continue to do their amazing work?”

“We’re here, and we’re not just doing the work, we’re doing the best work. If the council thinks we need help to ‘get the job done’ as they claim, then they should hire more city staff to help,” said Fitzpatrick. “There are public services that are struggling, that need money. Why waste taxpayer’s money on a limited contract? That doesn’t give the workers, ours or theirs, or our city, stability, and we deserve that.”

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