Pinching Pennies can be Pound Foolish

Over the past two weeks, the Admin Services Director, the Finance Director and I have had great discussions with all of our labor groups. We are now attempting to have face to face meetings with employees in every department. Our goal is to make sure that all of us understand our current budget circumstances and what we are trying to do to make sure that we can sustain a high level of service to our community during these tough times.

One subject that comes up in every discussion is why we are still making capital expenditures in a time when many employee jobs are at risk. The expenditure most frequently questioned is the remodel of our Permit Center. Many believe that this $400,000 investment would be better used to preserve jobs. I can understand why people feel this way, but after learning the facts, you'll find that this is actually an expenditure that WILL preserve jobs in the long run.

Here are the facts:
*The original remodeling proposal was for $1.5 million and it was substantially reduced in light of the current budget situation.

*By creating a one-stop shop for permits, it will reduce operating costs by about $300,000 per year.

*The funds used for the permit center are facility fees that can ONLY be used for capital expenditures and not for staffing.

*We are currently requesting millions in fee increases from the building industry. These increases will be hard to justify if we aren't able to improve our customer service.

There are number of other qualitative benefits as well that were outlined in a Bulletin story earlier this week. To view the story click here.

When you add up the numbers, the one-stop shop will likely return $10 to the City for every dollar that was spent. In these budget times, we need more opportunities like that!

I can assure you that every expenditure is closely scrutinized these days. If something actually makes it onto the agenda it is because it is an expenditure that benefits the city or is something we are legally required to do. I encourage staff members to contact their Department Head or contact me if they are wondering why we are making certain expenditures.