Mobile’s Accountability Program Leads to Savings and Better Use Of Resources

Feb 9th, 2011

Mobile Mayor Sam Jones and other city officials celebrated the city’s accountability program, CitiSmart, pointing to major savings as a result of departments tightening their belts in the midst of a tough budget crunch.

CitiSmart, in its fifth years of existence, has performed over 500 briefings with every city department. In the briefings, departments must justify their spending of tax dollars, use of city resources and present a plan of action to address future problems.

Since the program began, the Fire and Rescue Department has reduced its overtime budget by $2 million. Also, as a result of CitiSmart, the city installed drive cams in city vehicles and heavy equipment, whereby reducing the number of accidents.

In the accountability program, department heads pool their collective resources, work together and bring down costs. A total of 97 CitiSmart briefings were held in 2010, resulting in many highlights, a few of which include:

• Police Department lowering cell phone costs by $1,700/month;
• Public Works reduced security costs by $40,000/year;
• Mobile Museum of Art lowered energy costs by $70,000;
• Geographic Information Systems obtaining a $175,000 grant for aerial photography project, saving a total of $43,750.

“We will continue to be excellent stewards or our taxpayers’ money,” said Mayor Sam Jones. “The fact that we have been able to maintain the level of service to our citizens while reducing our spending is a great testament to our employees.”