Everyone pitched in with the City of Vancouver's efforts to achieve internal savings throughout City Hall.
Over the past few months, there have been several posts on other websites either raising concern over the way that change was being implemented within City Hall, or detailing the laments of those directly or indirectly impacted by the cuts coming down throughout the organization.
And, if you read enough of these “the world is going to end” posts, you might think that anarchy is about to set in, or at the very least, a mutiny is coming against the City Manager.
Well, here’s another perspective.
This list was sent out to City employees containing all the suggestions staff made to cut costs as part of the shared services review.
As you can see, it is 49 pages long, meaning that there was no shortage of participation from every corner of City Hall.
My personal favourites? #15, #240 and #545, although there are some truly interesting and very personal ideas, particularly when you read the descriptions.
Achieving efficiencies, rolling back expenditures and cutting staff are never an easy set of tasks for any organization. That being said, what has happened as a result of the shared services review was something that was years overdo, and previously lacking the political will and the institutional leadership to make it happen.
The City of Vancouver and its employees should be proud of what they have accomplished by contributing to the process. This is a legacy that will never be flashy or catchy for the media, but will pay major dividends in the coming years as savings continue to mount and go into the public coffers to provide additional funding for city programs and services.
