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Committee to review audit of city vehicle fleet

North Bay City Council brought forward a part of its auditing process during this week’s regular meeting. The report, done by KPMG, looked at the municipal fleet, meaning the vehicle inventory that is used by the city and their costs to the citizens.
North Bay City Council brought forward a part of its auditing process during this week’s regular meeting.

The report, done by KPMG, looked at the municipal fleet, meaning the vehicle inventory that is used by the city and their costs to the citizens.

The 12 recommendations, packaged within 8 phases, will have to come before council again in order to be passed and to take effect.

Council is hoping to find initiatives to save on the costs of fuel, repairs and replacement, as well as varied ownership models such as renting speciality vehicles such as street sweepers instead of purchasing the vehicles outright.

The city initially looked at bringing in a third party who specializes in municipal vehicle studies in efficiency, yet decided it to be more prudent to form a committee and bring recommendations forward.

The committee is setting out to accept all proposals and implement them as quickly and effectively as possible.

The purpose of the committee and its initial steps, says Deputy Mayor Sean Lawlor, is to put the cost saving measures in place are forming to insure taxpayers the highest value for their investment in the community.

Lawlor says that the auditor’s report, which began in 2012, will give council a clear picture of what can be modified and where efficiencies can be found for the committee to make its recommendations.

"The committee is looking for tighter controls and monitoring in order to deliver more with what the city has," he says.

While no dollar figure has been set as a target initiative for savings or an expenditure cap, many of the recommendations are already going into effect at the different departments throughout the city in order to increase savings as quickly as possible.

The report was not immediately available to review the number of vehicles the city is maintaining with a concise list of each type and its age and mileage.