The City of Edmonton will spend $8.5 million in order to remove snow from city streets more quickly.

The amount will pay for twenty sander-plows, two loaders and five snowblower attachments.

Councillors debated the issue for much of Wednesday morning.

Mayor Stephen Mandel continued to speak against spending more money, saying there was no need to rush ahead with a decision.

Mandel had hoped the city could contract more private companies instead.

However a report prepared by city staff stated half of the road crew are already private contractors and there are few others available.

Even if there were more contractors, hiring them is twice as expensive as using city staff — $185/hour compared to $75/hour, the report concluded.

Most councillors spoke passionately about the complaints they received from city drivers and how the city has to be better prepared for next year's winter.

Councillors also voted in favour of having the city's snow removal policy and procedures reviewed by an independent panel of experts.

"It's a really interesting opportunity for us to learn from others," Coun. Don Iveson said. "A lot of that expertise exists in this country among municipalities and tapping into that is a good opportunity."

The review is expected to be completed by the summer.