SASKATOON – After facing backlash for spending close to $18 million on private consultants in 2015, the City of Saskatoon has decided to review the value of consultants going forward. In a financial meeting Monday, councillors agreed residents had several questions about the figures.
“When I did see the number I was surprised. I didn’t realize when you add all the different contracts that we had, that it would amount to $18 million. I knew that the public would be surprised too,” Ward 6 Coun. Charlie Clark said.
READ MORE: $18M consulting services budget for Saskatoon in 2015 divisive topic
The report states the city spent almost $15.95 million on capital project consultants and the other $2.68 million on operational consultants.
The figures have been compared to other city centres like Toronto. In 2014, it spent just over $11 million on consulting services.
Administration stands behind the fact that different municipalities define and report “consulting services” in different ways. Coun. Clark says it’s just not fair to make the comparison.
“I don’t think this should be a defensive or blame game but I think it is important that people are able to compare apples to apples when we do this,” he said.
Still, he says this is an opportunity for the city to be transparent and evaluate the value of private consultants.
In a new report, city administration outlined the reasons why consultants are contracted out for projects, especially when it comes to engineering and design.
“One of the biggest reasons is that the city does not have the expertise in house,” said the city’s chief financial officer, Kerry Tarasof.
He also listed lack of in-house capacity and a need for an unbiased and objective opinion as other reasons.
In the future, Coun. Clark says he doesn’t expect to see a number so high.