Cities all over the United States are facing the possibility of a severe financial crisis. This possible financial crisis brought on by the economy's recession has caused many cities and counties all over the nation to rethink how they spend money
(prHWY.com) January 24, 2013 - Seattle, WA -- Cities all over the United States are facing the possibility of a severe financial crisis. This possible financial crisis brought on by the economy's recession has caused many cities and counties all over the nation to rethink how they spend money and ways they can save.
One county in Alabama has come up with a possible solution to help find budget holes and ways to save. This county has implemented a mandatory download of CMMS software on all city computers.
"We were in a situation where we either had to make some dramatic changes to the budget or face the possibility of letting several full-time employees go", explained the director of the county. "I would hate to see hard working individuals lose their jobs because of this situation. So I came up with a way that will hopefully save money -
downloading the CMMS software."
The physical CMMS software won't help save money, but it is the information that software provides that can. This type of computer software will help cities all over the county monitor their maintenance budget.
"It's surprising but when we took a look at the areas where the cities spent the most money, it was the maintenance budget", explained the director. "People don't realize how much it costs to maintain roads, keep certain services in place, and maintain government buildings. This software should give people an idea of where they can 'cut the fat' so to speak without sending everything into a downward spiral."
All county computers will be required to download the CMMS software by March 1. New computers that are purchased will already come with it downloaded.
The implementing this mandatory software download has not gone over too well with the public. Some citizens believe that this is just a way for the government to look like it is doing something, while others believe the money is being wasted.
"We had several people inquire about how much this little project is costing us", explained the director. "The truth is that while we are buying this software, the money we could be saving with the information that it provides could be job saving. We spent considerable time going over the pros and cons, and the pros outweigh the cons."
All employees of the county will be required to attend several mandatory meetings to learn how to use the software and interpret the data that it provides. It is estimated that savings could be seen as early as Summer 2013.
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