Snow Removal Costs Climb After Change Orders, Re-Bid Contracts

The cost of clearing the first inch of snow from New Haven’s public school properties during winter storms jumped from around $19,000 to more than $49,000 this year — thanks to what one Board of Education-hired contractor described as spikes in the costs of fuel, insurance, and maintaining worn-down snow removal equipment.

That price hike was revealed during a recent Board of Education discussion and vote regarding the companies the public school district pays to clear snow from New Haven’s 49 school properties/buildings.

The school board wound up voting 5 to 2 during its most recent meeting on May 13 to approve four change orders pertaining to that work. 

The change orders cost the district an additional $199,905 for eight snow/ice events in January and February. That means the district wound up paying a total of $649,905 for snow removal work this school year, well above the $450,000 it had originally budgeted.

What happened?

Since 2019, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) had committed to renewable fixed contracts with three snow removal vendors: Tim’s Enterprises, M&M Total Construction, and Amazon Landscaping. Last year, Amazon opted out of its annual renewable contract with the district, and was replaced by a vendor called Cheapscapes.

The prices paid to these contractors stayed flat year over since 2019, even as the actual cost of those services went up.

This school year, NHPS re-bid its snow removal contracts to solicit competitors that might be interested in getting in on the school district’s snow removal work, ideally at costs the district could afford with its set budget. 

The opposite wound up happening. The same three contractors NHPS had already been working with for snow removal were the only ones that bid — and their prices went up considerably from what the district had been paying before.

On Monday, some school board members raised concerns about such large change orders — as they might encourage contractors to underbid up front, get the contract with the school district, and then squeeze the school system for more money through change orders after the work is already done. 

“Change orders of this magnitude are very unusual,” schools spokesperson Justin Harmon told the Independent in a response to questions for this article. ​“In this case, the bid price was limited by the fact that the budget for snow removal had not grown in four years, while the cost of snow clearing services had, and we had more snow and ice events than in recent years.” 

Harmon concluded that the change orders also came as a result of the district’s building managers doing less this winter than in past winters, and because the facilities department has been ​“pressing the contractors to clear spaces more thoroughly.”

When asked why the cost of services increased so dramatically, Harmon said, ​“The budget was based on prices that were five years old. Most prices went up substantially during the post-covid inflationary period.” 

In a phone call with the Independent Wednesday, Joe Barbarotta, a consultant and advisor for the contractor Cheapscapes, pointed to the rising prices of fuel, insurance, and vehicle maintenance to explain the rising costs charged to the district. ​“All of it is extremely high right now,” he said. 

He added that another reason cost are up this year is because ​“we had more snow fall. So we went out a lot more, when in previous years, we hardly got called out,” he said.

Barbarotta clarified that contractors are the ones held responsible for possible slips, trips, and falls on district properties and therefore, though costly, insurance is a must. 

When asked about the cost of investing in equipment for snow removal, Barbarotta said a single new plow costs more than $10,000. He said Cheapscapes uses several plows to complete its school district jobs in a timely manner. ​“A one-year contract can’t pay for the amount of equipment needed for these jobs,” he said.

He also said that New Haven-based companies like Cheapscapes must invest in equipment, gas, insurance, and employees before the start of the season. 

Barbarotta said Cheapscapes’ relationship with the district has been good. ​“We’ve done our job, and the contract is very detailed — from every sidewalk and around every dumpster. It’s a lot of work,” he said.

“We don’t get a change order because we didn’t do something right in the contract. The real driver is we went out more times than expected,” he concluded. ​“It’s the same budget every year but not always the same amount of work.”

Board of Education Secretary Edward Joyner, who voted against the change orders, continued to raise questions at Monday’s meeting — whether the contract included a clause to ​“protect the district from increased cost” and what the justification was for the price increases. 

If contractors have significant cost increases than what was originally agreed on, Joyner said, that should be negotiated before it comes to the board, and there should be an ​“early warning system” that lets the superintendent know once the work is started.

“Saying the prices went up is not a sufficient explanation in my mind,” Joyner said. ​“Particularly at a time when we are probably in a crisis when it comes to necessary funding for education.” 

The Board’s Finance and Operations committee request Board members and the public to submit questions about specific agreements, change orders, and contracts before meetings to be sure that questions get answers before being recommended to the full board. Board of Education Vice President and F&O chair Matt Wilcox said Monday was the first time he’s heard the several specific questions raised at the meeting. 

The other dissenting vote against Monday’s change order agreements was that of board member Andrea Downer.

Joyner later clarified that his concerns are not with the snow removal services but rather with the district and city’s policies and contracts that don’t include a clause that would ​“prevent a vendor preforming any service from excessive cost increases.” 

“The failure not to have that sets you up for a person being the lowest bidder, but at the end of the contract, collects a payment much higher than maybe even the highest bidder,” Joyner said. 

Wilcox clarified that the city’s procurement policy, which the board currently follows, states that change orders that have more than a 20 percent increase first must receive additional approvals from the district and city purchase teams before heading to the school board. The Finance and Operations committee is currently working on updating and reviewing the district’s Policy #3323 for Solicitation Prices (bid and Quotations)/Professional Services Procurement Policy. 

Superintendent Madeline Negrón added during Monday’s meeting that the district has been ​“seizing an opportunity to learn when we see that we have some gaps in the system.”

Wilcox said the drafted policy update does include language to have change orders follow the city’s policy, which states that ​“if there are cases where it exceeds, that people have to justify it not only to us, like they’ve been doing, but also to the city.”