City can save $150,000 in cable services, says auditor general

Torontonians who wonder if they're paying too much on their monthly cable bill at home can be sure of one thing - they're paying too much for the City of Toronto's cable television service, to the tune of about $150,000 a year.

According to a report from Toronto's auditor general, since amalgamation the city has subscribed to a hodge-podge of cable television service plans, only a few of which take advantage of bulk cable service.

Those services are provided at City Hall and Metro Hall - but according to the report from auditor general Jeff Griffiths, others have been arranged by separate divisions. And some of the packages that those divisions subscribe to are quite rich, with costs ranging from $28 per month for basic cable up to $104 per month for the most elaborate packages.

The auditor general estimated that if the city bundled all of its services together, cut the frills and put them under one management group, Toronto could save more than $150,000 annually. Audit committee chair Doug Holyday said the city should also look to see whether it's possible to bring more of its cable television services in house. At City Hall, the cable television network is used to broadcast committee and council meetings to offices internally - and Holyday said it might be worth seeing if there's a way that the city can't do those internal broadcasts itself.

"If we have to have the cable to make the internal system work that's one thing - but if we don't need the cable even for that then we should think about getting rid of it," he said. "This is a monitor for us to monitor committee meetings - not sit around watching soap operas."

Holyday said he also wants to make sure that no one at the city is taking advantage of more expensive cable packages without a good reason.

"I'd like to make sure that no one's getting the Cadillac cable that's not necessary," he said. "I understand that those services are out there."

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