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Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan
The County will see projected savings of $330,000 per year in electricity procurement, a $37,000 reduction in insurance cost due to fleet reduction, plus savings in fuel consumption.
“One of the very first things we looked at when I took office was an evaluation of the County’s fleet of vehicles,”said Donovan.
“Through our evaluation, we have consolidated vehicle use within departments, eliminated ‘take home cars’ for non-essential personnel and have auctioned 123 vehicles,” she continued.
“The substantial savings we are seeing in our insurance costs are only the beginning of the savings for our taxpayers,” Donovan added. “The installation of GPS in County vehicles will show further savings in gas consumption, maintenance costs, and productivity.”
The County has already seen [a] 22,000[-]gallon reduction in fuel use, for additional savings of approximately $66,000.
In September of 2011, the County awarded a contract with GridSmart Energy to provide energy procurement and energy consulting services.
Electricity procurement presented the greatest opportunity for cost savings and an analysis was performed.
On November 16, 2011, four licensed third-party electric suppliers submitted bids for the County’s electricity supply service agreement.
The lowest responsive bidder was Integrys Energy Services with a 12-month fixed supply rate of $0.08669. This represents an 18% decrease in supply cost over the County’s current cost. The projected savings for this first contract are $330,000 per year.
Earlier this year the Donovan administration slashed $30 million from the spending plan they inherited from the outgoing Democrat administration. Those cuts have provided real tax relief for Bergen County homeowners.
Donovan has promised to continue to cut all unnecessary, wasteful spending.
“I promised the people of Bergen County that I would look at everything to find cost savings, and that ‘s exactly what we have been doing,” said Donovan. “We will continue to evaluate, moderate and monitor every aspect of County government to bring the best services we can at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayers of Bergen County.
“We are always mindful that it is the taxpayers money we are spending.”
The author, Joseph Appio, is a public information officer for Bergen County.
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