Hiring CMS leads to savings and efficiency Annapolis (January 13, 2009) - County Executive John R. Leopold said today that a change in how the County handles its mail has led to a savings to taxpayers of $133,830 over the past year. Through a contract with CMS Mail Stream Solutions, mail is sprayed with a bar code and presorted by zip code, allowing a discounted postage rate compared to paying retail prices sending mail directly through the U.S. Postal Service. In July, when the County sent out property tax bills, for example, it paid $37,341 presorted rate instead of the $45,506 retail rate, saving $8,165. "During these difficult fiscal times it is more important than ever to find efficiencies and savings wherever we can," County Executive Leopold said. "We have done this by renegotiating employee health plans, instituting hiring freezes, curtailing the use of take-home County vehicles and cutting fuel costs. Outsourcing mail distribution is just another example." For the calendar year 2008, the County sent out more than 1.7 million pieces of mail. Paying retail price would have cost taxpayers $720,165. By using this service, the County paid $586,335. The contract with CMS was initiated in November 2007. |
