Bayside Trustees Going High-Tech

Bayside will save more than $11,000 per year by no longer printing informational Village Board packets for trustees and instead giving each board member a new iPad.

Board packets are distributed to trustees prior to their meetings. They include reports from village staff, copies of proposed ordinances and other background information pertinent to each meeting.

The standard cost to compile, copy, assemble and deliver the packets runs about $12,300 per year. That excludes the cost of a replacement copier every five years, which is required to keep up with the copying demands at the Village Hall.

If the cost of a replacement copier is factored in, at about $10,000 every five years, the cost of printing and delivering packets is about $164,800 over a 10-year period.

By comparison, the only costs associated with the iPads are the devices themselves and third-party software. The total cost to purchase the applications and equipment for all board members comes to $6,000.

The cost of the iPads over a 10-year period, including a replacement copier, comes to about $51,000, about one-third less than the village now spends.

"We looked at several options like the Kindle, Netbooks or laptops," said Village Manager Andy Pederson. "In the end, what would provide the most ease of use is the iPad."

He said trustees can write directly on the e-documents, instead of writing on "stickies" and then referencing the document later.

The benefit with the copier is now the machines life is extended from five to seven years, reducing the expenditures per 10-year period even further.

Village President Sam Dickman asked if there will be some sort of training session on the iPads for those who not technologically savvy.

Pederson said the village is reviewing how other municipalities have conquered the learning curve. He said one even developed a simple YouTube video, but the village is considering one-on-one training for each of the seven trustees.

The money for the iPads is in the 2011 budget, so trustees won't receive their new equipment until early next year.

Other Wisconsin municipalities that have already made the switch include Oshkosh, Baraboo, Fitchburg, Greendale, Mequon and Whitewater.