Merced County: Scaling the Heights of Cost Savings

Merced County is centrally located in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley. As the world’s most productive agricultural area, the county spans from its coastal ranges to the foothills of Yosemite National Park. The sheer rock face and majesty of El Capitan (pictured here) is known to admirers around the world. With a population of approximately 240,000, the county is also home to the University of California’s newest campus. Lake Yosemite provides water to support the county’s extensive agricultural operations that produce dairy, poultry, cattle, almonds, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and figs.

Like most California counties, state budget cuts combined with deteriorating economic conditions created budget challenges. In an effort to reduce overall expenses, Merced County contracted with Cost Control Associates to conduct an extensive review of the county’s energy, telecom and cellular phone accounts. The goal was to uncover overcharges and carefully examine existing rates and services.

The fact that Merced County had no funds in their budget to pay for such an extensive review did not present a roadblock. Cost Control Associates often works on a contingency basis, earning its fees from a percentage of the refunds and savings they find. If they find nothing, Merced County pays nothing!

But Cost Control Associates did find something! Their extensive audit of invoices and charges resulted in annual energy cost savings of $8,763. The telecom review produced one-time refunds of $13,256 plus annual savings of $20,153. The greatest savings came from Cost Control’s review and optimization of cellular phone services that produced annual savings of $83,571. The grand total was more than $125,000, thus proving that the easiest way to scale a mountain is to call in the experts at Cost Control Associates.

“We were impressed when Cost Control Associates uncovered $13,000 in refunds, but when they discovered $112,400 in annual cost savings, we were delighted!”