The Citizen, 1996-04-17, Page 8Doing Better for Less.
CHANGING GOVERNMENT FOR A BETTER ONTARIO
Doing better for less in government is a key part of our plan to
reduce costs, balance our budget, improve the investment climate in
Ontario, create jobs and restore hope and opportunity.
CHANGES TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM
The government is spending $1 million
an hour more than it is taking in. No family,
business or government can survive spending
like that. Spending $70 to administer each
payment of $2.75 a day to jurors and sending
OPP cars to Thunder Bay for basic repairs are
the kinds of inefficiencies we must stop so we
can direct your tax dollars into priority areas.
And in priority areas such as health care,
we're looking for efficiencies as well —
taking the financial savings from expensive
institutions to reinvest into critical areas
such ,as long-term care community services,
kidney dialysis, immunization, and
cardiac services.
CHANGES THAT ARE THOROUGH
AND FAIR
In November, we outlined cost-saving
targets for ministries to achieve. We are
meeting these targets and changing the
way government operates by developing
comprehensive business plans.
CHANGES THROUGH GOOD PLANNING
AND MANAGEMENT •
Ministry-by4iinistry business -plans are a
new way to organize decisions about the "what,
how, and where" of spending your tax dollars.
By answering the tough question, "what is a
ministry's core business?", we- can focus our
efforts like a laser beam. We will downsize
operations, save money in administration,
reduce waste and duplication, streamline and
transfer services. Through this exercise, we
will provide you better quality, lower cost core
services and activities.
HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED
Detailed business plans will be published
after the Budget. For a copy of the recent
Legislative Statement on the Business Plan
Project and information about how to send us
your ideas call:
1-800-535-9949
or (416) 314-2455
Ontario
PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17;1996
Continued from page 6
stated they cannot make
photocopies for students, which
cost about three cents per sheet of
paper. They have to have the
students make their own hand-
written copies. "It costs 14 cents
every minute a student is in the
room. We've cut supplies too far."
"The laptops in this room alone
would buy a lot of toilet paper,"
stated one taxpayer. "When we
budget in our house we buy the
frills when the basics are taken care
of."
Carroll replied that the
equipment was borrowed from one
of the schools and added that it
would be much more difficult to
work with a $62 million budget
without computers.
When asked about the laying off
of staff, Carroll said that the board
is "committed to trying to reduce
through natural retirement and
attrition rather than layoffs."
Through the use of low cost
retirement incentive programs in
the elementary schools, there will
be no layoffs. Everyday on the
news, said Carroll, there are reports
of school boards laying off
teachers, but, he added, these are
only surplus notices each board
hands out every year.
"We will meet the needs of this
government. We will be sensible
about it and do it in a fashion that
will not hurt the kids or the
taxpayers in the system. We will
work with Helen and her
government to get rid of this
archaic funding system."
"It is our commitment to make
sure our system becomes more
equitable in how we fund education
in this province," said Johns,
reading from a statement that
Minister of Education John
Snobelen made on the
government's mandate of education
finance reform.
"It's going to take time. But it is
going to happen within the
government's mandate," said Johns.
"We are working hard for
education finance reform. It is not
fair that we are educating our kids
at a different dollar value than the
students in Toronto. I believe that
education finance reform has to go
through. Our kids deserve it and the
people of Huron County deserve
it."
Carroll
`Board will
meet needs'
4
V".