Basersdorf voters today, Sunday, November 27, voted in favor of buying new IT infrastructure for Basersdorf School with 1,409 yes to 570 no. This corresponds to 71.20% yes.
As part of this deal, the residents of Bassersdorf approved loan applications of CHF350,000 as a one-time expense for the purchase of IT infrastructure and CHF680,000 for total annual costs of operating, maintaining and purchasing future hardware. The non-recurring costs of 350,000 Swiss francs consist of 200,000 Swiss francs for the purchase of the IT infrastructure and 150,000 Swiss francs for the implementation of the project phase. The recurring costs of CHF 680,000 are staff costs for technical and instructional support, operating and support costs as well as maintenance and operation of the back-end systems and system software.
RGPK swing
The deal was controversial in the run-up to the vote. However, the Audit and Business Committee (RGPK) recommended that those entitled to vote reject the motion at the municipal meeting as well as at the ballot box. Specifically, the commission noted that there is a high potential for uncertainty about the evolution of annual recurring costs, as noted in the instructions for voting at the polls. On the other hand, from the point of view of the RGPK, there was a lack of adequate and effective control in order to be able to measure business costs and thus compare them with today’s forecasts. As a result, Hans Stutz, Head of the Education Department, together with the Finance Department, developed a new type of “financial control” for this project, as a kind of supplement to the usual financial systems. This eventually led to the RGPK supporting the movement at the ballot box.
The head of the education department is pleased
When asked by dorfblitz, Hans Stutz was pleased with the positive result, stating: “With more than 70% upvotes, it’s certainly comfortable, but there could have been a few more upvotes.” Is he alluding to the very low turnout of 27.6 percent? For him, it is difficult to assess whether this positive result is also related to the tractor company’s RGPK logo. After the community meeting before the consultation, on the advice of the RGPK, he reviewed one of the books again and modified one or the other, according to the head of the education department.