The mayor of Kamloops says at least one of the budget cuts approved earlier this week was a no-brainer.

Ken Christian says inspecting streetlights when complaints come in, instead of paying staff overtime to check them every five weeks, will save the city about $20,000 next year.

“People drive by streetlights everyday and don’t pay attention to them. But there are half of the streetlights in Kamloops operated by BC Hydro and the other half are operated by the City of Kamloops. It depends on where they are. And long ago, the BC Hydro system changed from an inspection system to a complaint-driven system,” Christian says.

“It seems to have worked for them, so there really doesn’t seem to be a reason it wouldn’t work for the other half of the street lights in the City of Kamloops. So it’s kind of a no-brainer, $20,000 dollars in savings. And that’s sort of indicative of the kind of savings we’re looking for now. We’ve picked all the low-hanging fruit, we’re looking for some relatively small numbers. But it all adds up.”

Council approved four minor changes to next year’s budget, which will save just over $250,000 for taxpayers, or about 0.25 per cent of a property tax increase.

(Photo: BC Hydro)