The budget for snow removal in the capital city’s downtown has ballooned by about $600,000.

Last year, the budget for snow removal in the area was between $250,000 and $300,000. This year, that price has nearly tripled to $855,000.

Mayor Danny Breen says the reason for that increase is a new directive from the federal government that the city is no longer allowed to dump snow in the harbour because of any litter that may be in it.

That means the city will have to truck the snow from downtown to the Robin Hood Bay landfill.

Breen says the increased cost has a lot to do with maintaining the same speed of removal as previous years. He says if you keep the same amount of trucks as previous years you will have a low of equipment waiting idly by until the trucks return from Robin Hood Bay.