Photo: Wayne Moore

The City of Kelowna has blown through its 2017 snow-removal budget.

Each year, the city sets aside $1.7 million for snow removal. public works manager Darryl Astofooroff says the cost for snow removal in 2017 sits at about $1.9 million.

Once all the figures are in, he says that figure will come out closer to $2 million.

The shortfall will be covered through a snow-removal reserve account. That account is propped up with funds from unused budgets in years when the cost of snow removal is under $1.7 million.

Astofooroff says the late-December storm pushed snow removal over budget.

Typically, he says, about 70 per cent of the budget is spent early in the year, from January to March. Large, early season storms in November and December are not the norm.

As for the remnants of the latest storm, Astofooroff says all city streets have been plowed at least once. He adds crews are in the process of removing remaining snow from downtown streets.

"You are dealing with really compact stuff. To get it peeled off, you have to use graders. Typically, we bring them out at night," said Astofooroff.