Quote:Mayor Cam Guthrie is more than ready for the city to commence a service rationalization review to learn if there are better ways and less expensive ways to deliver services to city residents.

So he's looking forward to a staff report that's coming to the corporate services committee on Sept. 9 on the topic.

"I have been awaiting this and I believe the community has been awaiting this," Guthrie said in a phone interview. "I know I sound like a broken record, but we owe it to the taxpayers to check whether we should deliver the services we deliver, if we can do it better, or if we should do it at all."

A service rationalization review is different from a value-for-money audit. The internal auditor has already been examining various city departments and has found ways to operate more efficiently and save money through these audits.

A service rationalization review takes a broader look at city services and asks questions that tunnel in on issues: Can efficiency be improved? Does the city provide services that are superfluous to its core services? Are we providing the right level of service? Can they be delivered in other ways, such as partnerships, outsourcing or electronic delivery?

"Privatization could be one outcome, but there may be opportunities for the non-profit sector to get involved, or public-private partnerships," Guthrie said. "It's not an either-or. There could be a number of options to consider."