Search for Savings nets more than $2 million
In this year’s planning round, City
Council staff reported savings and
efficiency gains of a little over $2
million for the coming year. Among the savings made are a
$413,000 drop in the cost of the
Council’s telecommunications
contract, staff savings of about
$340,000, a saving of $180,000 in
payments for licensing Microsoft
software, a reduction of $240,000 in
planned housing maintenance, and a
reduction in the Recovered
Materials Foundation grant of
$300,000. In presenting the draft Annual Plan
to the City Council last month,
Strategy and Finance Committee
chairman Alister James said he and
fellow councillors had to be
thorough in reviewing operational
and proposed capital spending to
make sure the Council’s operations
were efficient and effective. “I would like the Budget Scrutiny
and Audit Special Committee to
work with each of the standing
committees and community boards
to identify cost reductions and
priority setting of spending and to
report to this Council during the
next six months,” Cr James said. |