Grosse Pointe Woods Employees Save City $500,000

Upon closing out the 2010-11 fiscal year balance sheet, Treasurer/Comptroller Dee Ann Irby discovered a $500,000 savings achieved through employee efforts to cut costs. 

Irby informed city council members about the savings Monday, explaining how pleased she is with the results. City administration asked employees to assess their individual department's spending and find ways to save. They were encouraged to be creative and look at everything down to the pens and office supplies used to perform their daily jobs. 

While Irby knew savings had been achieved, she didn't know to what extent until completing the final analysis of the fiscal year spending to compare the amount budgeted versus the amount spent by all departments. 

The extra money will help the city in the coming years to add to budgets that have already been projected to be extra lean, she said.

The earlier this year to bridge the gap between the proposed budget and the city's dwindling revenue. The increase passed in a 6-1 vote with , who believed more cuts could have been made. 

Irby said the savings will not replace the millage increase and will help beyond the 2011-12 fiscal year by helping the city get through years that are already looking too lean. 

All departments came in at about 80 to 85 percent of their budget, Irby said. She did not review the specifics of each department's spending but rather noticed the bigger picture trend. 

Council members and city council shared their appreciation and happiness with the outcome. 

In addition to the savings by each department, Grosse Pointe Woods has taken other measures to help the bottom line including .