Politics & Government

For Woodbury City Council: Packets Or iPads?

City considering going electronic on council information packets to save money.

Woodbury City Council meetings could be a little more high tech in the future if the city opts to change from traditional paper council packets to an iPad-based system.

During a Feb. 15 workshop meeting, council members got a look at how going electronic would work and saw some of the applications available for wading through the extensive information packets they receive for each meeting.

While there would be an initial up-front cost for the hardware, eliminating hard-copy packets would save the city money in the long run, said Robert James, the city’s IT director.

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While there were several options outlined by staff, council members seemed to favor a plan that would give them a technology stipend for the purchase of an iPad, though some specifics would still have to be worked out. (Because it was a workshop meeting, no formal action was taken.)

There are also questions about how it would work initially because council members are in different years of their terms.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Councilman Paul Rebholz and Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens said they would begin using them as part of a testing period straight away.

The discussion also included questions about paying for wireless internet service at council members’ homes.

By going with a certain technology stipend option, the city would save $24,050 over a four-year period, according to a council memo.


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