With renewed importance of essential workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Edmonton is the centre of a public outcry over reducing services and firing frontline staff..Under the Reimagine Services review project, Edmonton city council contracted KPMG in October 2020 to review its five most extensive services – Fleet and Facility Management and Maintenance, Parks and Open Space Access, Recreation and Sport Facility Access, and Fire Rescue Services..To be completed in June 2021, the $997,500.00 review prioritizes service reduction and elimination, evaluating alternative service delivery, and equity analysis..While the administration expects to implement the project’s recommendations, Coun. Mike Nickel, an Edmonton mayoral candidate, was not convinced it would deliver ongoing savings and efficiencies that exceed the consultant costs..“The City of Edmonton spent $1 million on consultants to ‘reimagine’ our city by reducing services & firing frontline workers,” said Nickel..Nickel recommended city council instead target reductions in bloated management and consultants to move Edmonton forward..He said voters deserve “better value in service for the taxes,” as cutting frontline staff is neither an “evidence-based” solution nor “fresh insight.”.Dhaliwal is the Western Standard’s Edmonton reporter
With renewed importance of essential workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Edmonton is the centre of a public outcry over reducing services and firing frontline staff..Under the Reimagine Services review project, Edmonton city council contracted KPMG in October 2020 to review its five most extensive services – Fleet and Facility Management and Maintenance, Parks and Open Space Access, Recreation and Sport Facility Access, and Fire Rescue Services..To be completed in June 2021, the $997,500.00 review prioritizes service reduction and elimination, evaluating alternative service delivery, and equity analysis..While the administration expects to implement the project’s recommendations, Coun. Mike Nickel, an Edmonton mayoral candidate, was not convinced it would deliver ongoing savings and efficiencies that exceed the consultant costs..“The City of Edmonton spent $1 million on consultants to ‘reimagine’ our city by reducing services & firing frontline workers,” said Nickel..Nickel recommended city council instead target reductions in bloated management and consultants to move Edmonton forward..He said voters deserve “better value in service for the taxes,” as cutting frontline staff is neither an “evidence-based” solution nor “fresh insight.”.Dhaliwal is the Western Standard’s Edmonton reporter
