Colorado Springs hopes to save thousands in postage annually by not mailing notices telling residents who pay stormwater fees in advance that they don’t owe anything.”Why are we wasting the postage telling people they already paid?” Councilman Jerry Heimlicher asked at Monday’s informal City Council meeting.Stormwater manager Ken Sampley said it was a “tool to provide information to customers.”He also said staff thought it best to send bills rather than field calls from property owners asking about their balance.But as the council became more agitated at the wasted mailing costs, staff changed its tune.”I’m thinking of the administrative cost,” said Heimlicher, noting that postage alone for 130,000 bills would be $40,000 to $50,000 per quarter.City Manager Penelope Culbreth-Graft said the city would no longer send repeat statements to those customers who pay ahead for the year.The council enacted fees in 2006 that became effective in 2007 to fund drainage projects.In other business, the council supported a plan to lease vehicles rather than purchase them.A staff analysis showed that replacing about two dozen vehicles would provide $125,564 in savings for parts and labor.This year’s $1.3 million budgeted for vehicles could buy 44 vehicles if the city paid cash, as it has done. But the analysis showed that using a blend of leasing and cash would allow the city to buy 55.The proposal calls for leasing 22 vehicles. The city will pay $380,893 a year for seven years and then own the vehicles.In addition, the city will pay $902,850 this year for 33 vehicles, including 21 police cars, five motorcycles and seven other vehicles.