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Lt. Gov. Murray to address economic strategies

Date: 12/30/2008

By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor



SOUTHWICK On. Jan. 22, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray will brief municipal leaders on the state's economy and strategize how public officials can reduce costs to soften the impending blow to local aid.

Paul Whalley, vice president of Whalley Computer Associates, will host the event at the company's Southwick location, and will also present a seminar titled "Saving Jobs and Money by Reducing IT Costs," which is aimed at aiding civic leaders in their development of cost-savings strategies.

"I am looking forward to participating in the Whalley Computer Seminar and hearing from local officials and members of the business community about their ideas for dealing with our fiscal challenges," Murray told Reminder Publications. "The Patrick-Murray Administration has and will continue to engage with communities and individuals across the Commonwealth to discuss the issues of importance and how state government can better serve them.

"As a former mayor, I understand how difficult it is for cities and towns to make ends meet in these challenging economic times, which is why it is more important than ever that we maintain the lines of communication between local, state and federal officials," he continued. "Together, we are working hard to find ways to mitigate the impact the fiscal situation has had on all of us."

Whalley said he will provide 20 short-term and long-term cost cutting strategies, such as reducing print costs, virtualization and videoconferencing. He explained that virtualization allows IT departments to reduce the number of servers, therefore reducing upkeep expenses and energy consumption.

"I've always been passionate about making sure that publicly funded organizations get the most money out of their technology dollars and spend money on the most important aspects such as [personnel]," Whalley said, adding that the title of his presentation cites the importance of "saving jobs."

He recalled that in 1979 he lost his teaching position due to necessary budget cuts prompted by the passage of Proposition 2 1/2.

"These are really some non-painful ways to reduce the technology [costs].and the more efficient the [technology], the lower the costs [and the better chances] to improve the taxpayers experience [and keep personnel]," Whalley said.