Snellville City Council Members Issued iPads

"...Oberholtzer, council members and city staff members referred to their iPads on Monday night for the council meeting agenda and supporting documentation, According to Erika Fleeman, the city’s IT administrator, the city will save money on paper, copier toner and employee time required to create the often bulky meeting packets."

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I called Snellville's Economic Development Manager Eric Van Otteren to hear more about the iPad use. H told me that one was issued to Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer, 5 more to council members, 1 to the City Manager, 1 to the City Clerk, and 1 to the city's I.T. person, because obviously there has to be a person to oversee the iPads.

Van Otteren said, "These are solely a replacement for the printed materials that were costing money in time, paper and ink to prepare." He went on to say that the iPads are not for personal use, and every person who has been issued an iPad is aware that they are to be used for business only. Of course, the units can go home with the people to whom they have been issued, so that they can read meeting notes, documents, and respond to email.

I've recently purchased an iPad-like device for myself. I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab. I am finding it very useful for making use of time I have to spend sitting or waiting somewhere. So many useful business applications (apps) are free. It is so multi-functional, it's getting a lot of use, and yes it does save on paper. I no longer have to print out stuff at home to take it with me to read on the go. I can respond faster to email.  I'm glad Snellville made this decision. It does have a bit of an initial outlay, but it's worth it in the long run. Now if we could only get our kids' school books on electronic devices!