After more than a year in development, the City of Sioux Falls has recently completed the implementation of two major cost-saving initiatives. Beginning with a comprehensive analysis of every City department’s cell phone needs, actual use, and expense, the Information Technology Division of Central Services determined a revamped approach to the City’s communications technology. Cell phones not deemed essential were discontinued, and a new overall voice plan was initiated. Together, these changes represent an annual savings of $46,000 for Sioux Falls.

Working with Marco, a regional leader in printer and copier services, the IT Division of Central Services also conducted a wide-ranging study of the printer and copier needs for all City departments. The study revealed a variety of ways to consolidate printing resources and increase efficiency by implementing a centralized printer management solution. This implementation is now beginning to save the City of Sioux Falls thousands of dollars in printing costs.

By eliminating 75 resource-draining printers (laser printers costing over 3 cents per page and ink-jet printers at over 12 cents per page), expensive ongoing maintenance costs were also eliminated. Using existing and new technology to direct printing to an area Multifunction Device (MFD), the costs were driven down to less than half a penny per print. These savings are already adding up. The City anticipates saving at least $1,900 per month by directing these prints to the lower cost MFD solution. We will realize additional savings by defaulting to duplex (two-sided) printing when possible. Centralized printer management will also yield detailed printer and copier reports so departments can monitor usage patterns to find additional ways to save on future printing costs. And with the scanning function, it will eliminate the need to print some documents altogether.

“This was a huge undertaking for my IT team and every single department across all of City government. We had excellent cooperation and support from everyone involved to accomplish this breakthrough, and it is a big win for the City of Sioux Falls,” said Sue Quanbeck Etten, Director of Central Services.