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Lest anyone forget: Monday is D-Day for shared-services review

September 27th, 2009 · 5 Comments

The news should start trickling out soon tomorrow morning about exactly what the news is when it comes to the city’s much anticipated/dreaded shared-services review. It’s being presented internally over the next two days, though I can’t imagine the news will stay internal for long.

As I’ve reported previously, the city is looking at having to trim up to $50 million in cost, depending on how low they want to limbo on that tax increase. Zero would mean some serious knee-bending.

The interesting thing to watch will be whether there is any difference in how the city handles a maor budget crisis compared to how the province has been handling theirs. I’m not hinting here. I have no clue, so I’ll have to wait and see like everyone else.

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Not Running for Mayor

    Hiring freeze is going to continue which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Although it is starting to burn out some employees in various depts.
    Guess my job is safe for as long as I still want it.

  • Jordon

    Please read this :

    http://www.cpsu.asn.au/webnews/PSAShared_ServicesReportFinal.pdf

  • Just Passing By

    Jordon, great read!
    I wonder, you know, in the spirit of the past experiences with these bureaucrats , how much of the new report is simply Cut Cut Cut and Paste Paste and More Paste. In the spirit of Christmas Freezing, and reducing spending, right there on their time and effort of course! BTW I heard that the Round Office reconsidered hiring Auchfuks or what his name is, and hire instead for the asme money, of courese again, 1 FT junior engineer 2 FT junior planners and 3 goats + goat keeper for the City lawn and vegetable garden. Now we are talking.

  • FBT

    In Summation from the 42 page report posted in #2:

    “It would not be prudent to hastily implement shared service arrangements in the
    pursuit for short term cost savings. There is a very high risk that the imposition of an
    inappropriate model might cost more than existing arrangements. It might also
    dissipate, rather than harness, corporate memory, knowledge and skills. A prudent
    approach to the introduction of shared services is required to ensure that public
    service morale is not undermined by poorly thought through strategies that fail to
    harness agency knowledge, skills and commitment.

    The pursuit of cost savings should not be the guiding principle to the design and
    implementation of shared service arrangements. Where estimates of savings are
    made they need to be weighed up against the costs of implementation and take
    account of a range of hidden costs. These might include excessive workloads,
    recruitment and retention difficulties and a decline in staff morale. Shared services
    should not be implemented without demonstrable benefits for staff, the community
    and Government.

    There are well founded concerns that shared services arrangements will lead to
    substantial job losses and erode working conditions in the public sector. This would
    be counterproductive in the context of an ageing workforce where the public sector
    will find it increasingly difficult to retain skilled and experienced people in the face
    of intense competition from the private sector. The workforce development
    imperative of the next decade is to increase the capacity of the public sector to recruit
    more young people and retain its mature age workforce longer to avoid the
    emergence of chronic skill shortages in the public sector.”

    One could argue that with the disaster that has unfolded at city hall this year, there is not a chance in hell the current bunch will get this right, er correctly. (Let’s not get left and right confused now.)

    A sideshow of great theatre is about to begin when the CUPE union that helped elect Vision is hung out to dry and their work force is cut.

    I’ll be watching from my window when they march on city hall only to find the lawns they used to camp on, are now gone for Gregor’s Gardens.

    People, don’t forget your popcorn!

  • Frothingham

    It would seem that the CoV has quite a challenge on their hands. Cost cutting and efficiency of services is always a good thing as long as it is accomplished on a reasonable timeline of one’s control and not as a desperate short-term action that will have negative repercussions long-term due to be led rather than strategic leading. And I wonder how much the Olympic budget over-runs have contributed to their bare cup-board woes? If in fact there were over runs. Where did the shortfalls in revenues come from? attributed to what?