Last updated April 12, 2019
The used cell phone bill for the city of Vancouver in Canada has gone over 1 million dollars, according to a new report. A report which was made in the March of last year by the internal audit branch of the city of Vancouver says that city councilors and staff members who used new or old cell phones need to find cheaper cell phone plans – and keep a stronger eye on their security.
As of May of this year, the city was paying the cost for no less than 1884 cell phones, which has already cost more than $520,000, the total figure for last year reaching well over a million. These numbers do not even take into account the cell phones used by either the school board or the police, which pay for their own cell phones, but do include staff in libraries, the fire department, city hall and the parks department.
The audit also found that the security of such devices was somewhat wanting. “We observed internal control weaknesses around mobile devices that require attention,” the report stated. “The current set up does not ensure the most economical and secure use of devices and there is a lack of central monitoring of mobile device usage and compliance to the policy.” The report advised that staff should “strengthen monitoring controls… follow up identified savings through reimbursements and utilization of add-on packages for texting and roaming.”