Condo Media - September 2016 - 38

SAVE IT for a SNOWY DAY
COLLECTING DATA
First, the self-managed board must
compile and review the cost from previous years. Finding this information is
not difficult, as most year-end financial
statements, audits, or reviews separate
out snow removal costs. When tracking
historic expenses, five year's actual
experience is the minimum to collect.
If more years can be included, it will
help to show the trends and reduce the
impact of the aberrations in cost.
Next, enter the information into a
table indicating the year, the amount
of snow that fell, and the total amount
paid for snow removal. Then, find the
average of both snowfall amounts and
cost over the period. Close examination
of the table will also show the years
when aberrations occurred: the years
with few snow events and those like
2015 with many more than the norm.
(See example below.)
How close is the average to the yearly
experience at your community? What
trends do you find over the period?
Does the picture change if you remove
atypical years like 2015?
How does the annual snowfall
average at your community compare
with the average for your state or city?
(New England state snowfall amounts

Plugging in a random number for snow
removal will not provide the funds
needed to pay the association's bills.
are as follows: New Hampshire
averages 61 inches, Massachusetts
averages 44 inches, Vermont averages
75 inches, Rhode Island averages 34
inches, and Maine averages 72 inches.) Of course, there are variations to
these numbers and where you are (i.e.,
near the coast or mountains) will have
its own impact on the snow that falls
on your community.
With this information, a projection
can be made for how much snow your
self-managed association is likely to
deal with this year.
CONTRACT PRICING
It is prudent practice for the self-managed board to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to snow removal contractors. The RFP should break out all the
work the contractor is expected to do in
a snow or ice event and requires a price
for each service. The RFP will usually
ask for a cost for snow plowing on a per
inch or several inches basis, a price for
sanding, ice-melting, and shoveling.

In addition, pricing for other services
should be requested in the event that a
bobcat or front-end loader and dump
truck must be brought in to relocate or
remove accumulated snow and a dumping fee is charged for the contractor to
legally dispose of the snow.
The board should require the contractors to respond with a standardized
Bid Sheet included in the RFP to make
comparing the bids much easier. (See
example.)
CONTRACTS
Make sure the contract clearly defines
the terms of your agreement with the
vendor and provides protection to your
self-managed association in the event
of an accident or claim. Ask your attorney to provide or review any contract
prior to signing and make sure that you
have a copy of the executed contract
on file. A handshake is not going to
guarantee that you obtain the level
of service that you expect or cover an
insurance loss.

ABC CONDO SNOW REMOVAL COSTS

CONDOMEDIA

Year

Budget

Actual $

Number of
inches

2007

$55,675

$122,225

27.1

2008

$110,000

$123,663

52.5

2009

$120,000

$200,225

65.9

2010

$160,000

$139,789

37.3

2011

$147,400

$221,550

81.7

2012

$160,000

$65,705

34.4

2013

$155,000

$251,944

95.9

2014

$185,000

$197,041

71.1

2015

$195,000

$415,670

108

Average

$143,119

$193,090

Condo Media - September 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - September 2016