iProvo committee meets for first time, is critical of operations
The City Council-approved review board — which includes a list of who's who among local politicians and businessmen — met at 7 a.m. at the Covey Center for the Arts. City Councilman George Stewart said city officials organized the committee and approved it Tuesday night to provide alternative assessments regarding the ongoing viability of iProvo and the repayment of iProvo debt obligations.
"(iProvo is) the single most important financial issue facing our city," Stewart said. "We need to find some way to close the deficit."
At issue: iProvo has lost an estimated $9.5 million since 2003, and Stewart said he estimates the telecommunications network will cost the city another $2 million. Earlier this week, Mayor Lewis Billings presented a list of strategies to turn iProvo around, including charging city departments for their use of the network, increasing subscribers or even privatizing the network.
Although the board was formally organized to discuss iProvo's financial situation, critical remarks were directed at the mayor's office and its management of iProvo.
Provo spokeswoman Helen Anderson said she's heard about some of the critical comments made at the meeting and said a response will be forthcoming.
City Councilwoman Cindy Richards said the board is not targeting any single person for the current state of iProvo.
"This is about attacking a problem," she said. "That's why we're looking at numbers."
Sen. Curt Bramble, R—Provo, said he wished Billings would have been present at the meeting to explain some questionable numbers he spotted in one of the consultant reports commissioned by the mayor's office to explore alternative ways to make iProvo profitable.
Bramble, a certified public accountant, said he noticed the report, prepared by Franklin Court Partners, stated the average number of iProvo subscribers is 184 per month. But, according to figures for June 2007 to March 2008, Bramble said the average is much lower: around 81 per month.
Bramble said he wouldn't present a report before the legislature that ignored the most recent trends.
"That would be pretty difficult to defend under cross-examination," he said.
Stewart said they discussed issues such as low subscriber rates, poor financial performance and the consultant reports to bring the board members up to speed on iProvo's current situation. He said his only intent in organizing the board is to generate ideas to fill the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
"I do have an agenda," he said. "And that's finding the money to pay for this year's budget."
The mayor will present next year's budget, including alternatives to improve iProvo's profitability, to the City Council on May 6 in the Covey Center for the Arts at 11 a.m. Stewart said the iProvo review committee will reconvene to discuss the mayor's budget May 13 at 7 a.m. in the Covey Center for the Arts.
E-mail: jdana@desnews.com
Recent comments
Finally, semi-rational discussions regarding iProvo. Just one question...
utnospin | April 28, 2008 at 5:14 p.m.
