Cattauragus County’s name comes from a Seneca Indian word for “bad smelling banks” due to natural gas that leaked from its rock seams. Located in western New York, lying atop the northern portion of the Marcellus Shale, natural gas continues to be extracted in parts of the county.
The southern part of the county, which shares a border with Pennsylvania, escaped the massive scraping of glaciers during the Ice Age. Thus the county’s geography is more rugged than neighboring areas. Today Cattaraugus County is home of two popular ski resorts and a population of about 85,000.
THE CHALLENGE
Cattaraugus County had already worked with Cost Control Associates to conduct a review of its energy bills. Delighted with the resulting $16,000 in refunds, the county invited Cost Control to do an additional review of its telecom costs. A prior review had been done by another company, but since Cost Control would perform the work on a contingency basis, it didn’t hurt to have them take a second look.
“Another company had already reviewed our telecom costs, so we were surprised when Cost Control Associates produced nearly $35,000 in additional savings.”
THE SOLUTION
Cost Control Associates used its Cost Recovery and Reduction™ program to do a thorough analysis of the county’s telecom invoices. The first obstacle occurred when the analysts discovered toll-free numbers billed in error by a former carrier. Obtaining the refund required substantial documentation and perseverance to prove that the carrier was billing the service and had done so since the county switched providers.
Cost Control analysts also recovered a refund from the local phone company for a special circuit that had been over-billed for channel mileage. Last but not least, they found a special discount plan that saved the county almost $27,000 per year. Cost Control analysts don’t stop when the analysis is done; they also do all the work negotiating refunds, adjusting bills and verifying that everything is correct.
Cost Control Associates produced more than $6,000 in refunds and nearly $29,000 in annual telecom cost reductions for Cattauragus County. When added to the $16,000 in energy refunds, the total savings produced was more than $50,000.
Lisa Miller is marketing and communications manager for Cost Control Associates. She joined Cost Control Associates in 2015, bringing more than 25 years of experience in marketing and corporate communications to her position. Lisa earned her BA from Skidmore College. Learn more.