City communications system gets upgrade

It won’t be business as usual for members of the South Salt Lake City Council after switching to a paperless system to review official documents.

In the coming months, the members of the city council will be using new Apple iPads to review meeting agendas as well as study packets and supporting materials, instead of working from a paper hardcopy.

To make the transition, the city will purchase seven second-generation iPads for approximately $500 each, for a total of about $3,500.

South Salt Lake City Councilmember John Weaver said he supported the upgrade to use the new technology after looking into all of the options to improve official city communications.

“We’ve been pretty cautious on this one,” Weaver said.

On Jan. 11, the city council voted 6-0 to approve the purchase of the new iPads. (South Salt Lake City Council member Casey Fitts was not present for the vote.)

The decision was made after months of discussion on the subject.

Council members asked South Salt Lake City Recorder Craig Burton to assess the amount of paper used in official documents in order do a cost comparison between the old system and use of the new technology.

According to city estimates, the total annual cost to prepare meeting packets for the city council is more than $7,000 per year. Those expenses include the price of paper used, ink and other printing materials, postage and labor hours spent for city staff to prepare the packets required to brief the council members before meetings.

During the last fiscal budget discussions, city officials approved about $5,000 to purchase new technology this year.

City staff researched options for new technology, such as the purchase of a Kindle or new lap top computers, but recommended the iPad because it is portable and easy to use.

The iPads will be compatible with the city computer network system. Council members will use the iPads to download documents posted by the city recorder.

Currently, council members must wait for agendas and related communication materials to be sent through the mail in a large packet. The new iPads will make the information accessible to council members immediately and save time waiting for the packets to arrive in the mail.

South Salt Lake City Manager of Information Systems Scott Turnblom said it was important for city officials to make use of current technology. He said other city governments have already made the change to a paperless system and that South Salt Lake shouldn’t stay “behind the curve.”

“We’ve waited long enough [to make the change],” Turnblom said. “This is the way to become more efficient.”

Turnblom said the new iPads, once they are in use by the council, shouldn’t have to be replaced for the next three to five years.