Winsted plans for paperless meetings
March 4, 2010 by Linda Scherer
Filed under News, Winsted
WINSTED, MN – In an effort to cut paper and copying expenses for the City of Winsted, the council approved the purchase of laptop computers to allow for paperless meetings.
The laptops, software, and support would cost $6,230. The estimated cost of paper, copying, misc. costs and staff time over five years will cost the city $22,800. The city has estimated a cost savings of $16,500 over five years by using the laptops.
The laptops will be purchased out of the cable fund, which is funded exclusively from franchise fees paid to the city by Mediacom. Funds held within the cable fund must be used solely for technology or related expenses for the city.
The approval of the laptop computers was not a unanimous one, with a vote of 3-2.
Council Member Bonnie Quast said she was concerned about spending money with the current economy.
“We see on paper that we are saving money, but I don’t know if the citizens will see it that way,” Quast said.
Last Monday she called 12 different towns and counties to find out if laptop computers or hard copy was being used for their meetings.
Of the 12 towns she called, three were using laptops – Delano, Buffalo, and McLeod County.
The cities that were still using hard copy for meetings were Cokato, Glencoe, Howard Lake, Hutchinson, Lester Prairie, Stearns County, Watertown, Waverly, and Wright County.
“I don’t know if I can justify this when I walk down the street and somebody says, ‘why do we have to have it (laptop computers) when the rest of these towns don’t have them?’” Quast said.
Mayor Steve Stotko agreed with Quast.
“I think the technology is good and I think we should do this, but I think the timing is bad. . . I would propose that we wait for a later date.”
Opposing Stotko and Quast, were council members Dave Mochinski, Tom Ollig and Tom Wiemiller.
“I don’t have a problem explaining to anybody the cost savings, and I think the way we are doing it now is obviously inefficient and costly,” Mochinski said.
“This is just one of the many ways we are going to have to start saving money. If we put this off, we are not gaining anything. We are not saving anything. It would have been great if we had done this five years ago,” Mochinski said.
The laptops will remain at city hall and will be used for city council, planning, and park commission meetings.
If the computers will remain at city hall, there is less reason to have a laptop, since they are designed for portability.
As a resident of Winsted, I applaud the move, as it should save the city significant funds over time. However, I would not expect the return on investment to be immediate. It will take time to transition into a mostly electronic environment.
I state “mostly” because there will always be some who will need hard copy notes or agendas, especially visitors or attendees who might just drop in. All in all, it should cut down on a lot of printing costs, however.
That said, I’d like to know more about the purchasing process. Have they already decided on a supplier? Was it done via competetive bid process?