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August 2011 |
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"Can I assume this equipment is portable?" asked Councilmember Tom Strigel. "It is more portable than what we currently use," said Jennie. Every time somebody uses the Hall, electronic equipment used for council meetings must be put away. "Why not choose the more robust iPads?" asked Councilmember Tom O'Connor, referring to 32 or 64 GigaBytes available on the market. "Our I.T. person said this size [16 GB] is more than sufficient to store a couple years' worth of council packets on the iPad," replied Jennie. Councilmember Tom O'Connor said that councilmembers who prefer to use their own personal iPads could do so. "It seems inefficient to have my Amazon order and the picture of my grandchildren and council information on separate iPads," he said. City Attorney Mike Norton said that since the iPads would contain public data, the machines could be subject to requirements regarding access, "just as you would be with home commuters now." "At some certain point, this would also affect the media," said Mayor Thun. "We anticipate the media would also take packets electronically." Stated Attorney Norton, "We would probably have to have a paper copy of the council packet here for the open meeting law requirements, but we would not have to make it widespread in terms of paper copies. They'd be on the website and easily accessible. The media would be like the rest of us, which is perfectly acceptable." Asked Councilmember Roden, "Is this the trend most cities are going to, or are we in the forefront, the middle of the pack, or the tail wagging the dog?" "We're certainly not in the rear," replied Attorney Norton. "I would say we're probably in the forefront in terms of using the iPad. More and more cities are doing it electronically. A big issue is, are the policy makers able to adapt, and you folks certainly are. That's usually a major question." "If one of us is an individual stockholder in Apple, does that recuse us?" asked Councilmember O'Connor. "Unless you're a major stockholder, that wouldn't be a conflict of interest," said Attorney Norton. Stated Councilmember Jim Crowley, who has been bringing his personal iPad to council meetings, "I was hoping to get a better breakdown of exact savings. I'd like more than a back of the envelope figure." "Also, is there an alternative to consider?" he asked. "Is there a policy that we will be electronic ... and are councilmembers expected to provide their own device? Maybe a subsidy toward the purchase of a device, but it's really up to you if you want to buy a Motorola version, an Ipad, a laptop? It's electronic, we don't care, as long as it doesn't cause problems from a support standpoint? This gives councilmembers more freedom as to what they'd like to do. Maybe there are other options we might want to consider." "I saw you as our leader on this," said Councilmember Roden, "so I'm going to take my cue from you. You were rightfully pushing us toward a paperless environment. I'm open." "I think the world of the Apple product," stated Councilmember O'Connor. "All my home equipment is Apple, including my phone. Is there an alternative device that I'm not aware of that competes admirably with the iPad?" Replied Councilmember Crowley, "There are many devices on the market that would fulfill the role we're considering, but I do share your opinion that Apple is probably the best. But freedom of choice is a good thing." Mayor Thun questioned if an electronic policy would present a problem for citizens who run for election in the City of Victoria. "I'd like to hear details on return of investment," said Councilmember Crowley. "I'd be concerned about investing in equipment that is expected to last for several years when we're in a market that's changing every twelve months. That's really my concern at this point ... I'm in favor of this and think we should have been electronic years ago. I think it's a great thing. Productivity benefits are there. I think we can move ahead with a policy because it's independent of the device." No decision was made at this time on the purchase of iPads for councilmembers. The decision at this time was to draft an electronic policy for the city, and to purchase $2,600 of presentation technology for city meetings.
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