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ci economist suritribune zyork region thursday april u 2002 13 1 by jeff mitchell lmstaff vhitef t v u stepped due diligence and tighter cost controls are among the measures being proposed to trim the 39 mil lion york region spends each year on consultants and- other outside experts the region will now insist consultants bear some of the risk for rising costs for con tracts which cost the region more than the salaries of all its department commissioners and directors combined said chief administrative officer alan wells its a bigticket itemmvir wells told members of the regions finance committee last thursday morning this is one of the most dis cretionary areas of expenditure that we have the problem is riot so much that the region has to rely on consultants for environmental assessments engineering design and other highly spe cialized jobs rather it is the fact contracts so often run overbudget and require addi tional funds mr wells said committee members heard contracts typically include a 15pefrcehr contingency fund for cost overruns a report indi cates most of those funds were disbursed not all contracts run over- budget but some come back requiring hefty funding revi sions the change would some times be almost double what the original contract was said regional chairperson bill fisch the committee endorsed a series of recommendations that include better due dili gence on the regions behalf from now on candidates for contracts will be examined for their past performance on contracts and their ability to get the job done on time and oh budget mr wells said companies entering into agree ments with the region will also be expected to share the risk of increased costs mr wells said that may mean higher frontend costs but should result in firmer prices he said and were going to look for them to stick to that price mr wells said the majority of consultant con- tracts awdedbyjaefregidneach yeaf are for transportation aricl works projects which will total 472 million this year im not convinced the measures are going to save us anything said aurora mayor tim jones the commit tee chairperson but new procedures will create a more efficient system and better explain contract costs he said arthritis qohiptv tomorrows gift whether itsa bequest a gifrof life insurance r a charitable annuity you can plan to ensure continuing support for arthritis research nearly four million canadians who count 1 11 ti for more information about our planned giving program contact the arthritis society give to give hope richmond hill 5805177 this message brought to you as a community service of the economist dn sheldon lszier and ed edwards dd family dentist denturist are pleased to announce that dr waseema ali will be returning to our group she is a family dentist with a special interest in treating children dental care for the entire family new patients are always welcome evening and saturday appointments are available 6212 main street just east of the train station stouffville 9056427474 reoeiveilireeheadj3ovewjthiburghase f evolutions ijs a groove thing markham location 5328 hwy 7 1 block east of mccowan 9052016621 holeechow canadian tire my little mmmeat shops f pizza nova i the wine place white rose iga stouffville market sears y v shoppers dug mart 5 loblaws l- vp consumers- gas post card zellers fhebay price chopper weston produce- lansing buildall i future shop cashway lumber food basics todays homes kentucky fried chicken the era banner tga- vhenryscameras jhyzels bad boy cambridge towels coastmountain sports dimarco 1 y ft rmrw nmwi mi it ititth 3 f