April 23, 2002
Mr. Edward J. Collins, Jr.
Chief Financial Officer
City of Boston
One City Hall Plaza
Boston, Massachusetts 02201
Ref.: Potential Savings of upwards of $50K a year through minor changes in City mailing practices
Dear Mr. Collins,
This note is to follow up a brief exchange of notes on pre-sorted mail rates about a year or so ago. At that time, as I recall, in responding to my query, you commented that the City's mailing system was not set up to make use of the special pre-sort postage rates. Now, however, with advances in technology in general and the Mayor's own initiatives at making the City's MIS Department more effective, the cuts in state aid, plus the planned increases in postage rates, it might make sense to take another look at how the City handles large mailings since the Mayor can undoubtedly make better use of the money that is being lost.
To recap, if you look at the mail you get at home, you'll probably notice that most bills and statements from banks, credit card companies, etc. that have meter stamps on them are mailed at a presorted rate of 28 cents or lower -- many are as low as 26.9 cents, and some as low as 25.5 cents. Most agencies of the City of Boston, however, send mailings at 32.2 cents. (BWSC is an exception; it does take advantage of the presort rates.) I've enclosed a couple of envelopes as examples.
Individually, the savings may be trivial, but added up over the course of a year, they amount to recurrent savings of over $50,000 a year, even assuming that some bills, such as excise taxes for fleets such as NStar or Verizon, may be done in bulk. As a ballpark, and assuming savings of 5.3 cents a piece:
| Annual Census: | 239,528 households, once a year | $ 12,694 |
| Real Estate taxes: | 125,000 real estate parcels, four times a year | $ 26,500 |
| Auto Excise taxes: | 342,749 registered vehicles in Boston, once a year | $ 18,166 |
| TOTAL: | $ 57,360 |
I do not know the postage rate that parking permit renewal notices are sent out at, but if they are not sent at the pre-sort rate, that's 71,544 parking permits, once a year, for an additional $3,792. Also, I do not know what individualized mailings the Boston Public Schools may make to the parents of the 63,000 students enrolled in the BPS or its 8,500 employees, or how they are made, but if BPS mailings are not currently being sent at a pre-sort rate, there is obviously a possible potential for savings there, too. As noted above, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission does already take advantage of the savings.
I know that with the best will in the world, it's not possible for someone to keep track of everything in an organization as large as the City of Boston, and I hope, therefore, that this note proves of value to you. Obviously, there's not a lot of money involved, but it could help the Mayor save some summer jobs, reduce some cuts in arts or parks programs, etc. If desired, I can be reached during the day at (617) XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Edward Jay Allan
Secretary