Councilors debate purchase of iPads

SOUTH PORTLAND — In an hour-long workshop session Monday, the South Portland City Council once again toyed with the idea of purchasing iPads, a technology derided by one audience member as “nothing but a toy.”

The idea was first proposed by City Manager James Gailey at an Aug. 1 workshop session, as a way to “go paperless.” Although information packets for each council meeting are posted online for the public and the press, city councilors still get their versions the old-fashioned way.

Gailey said the use of iPads would allow councilors to get all of their information electronically, at a long-term savings to both the environment and city coffers. It also would present the city with an opportunity to get all seven councilors using an official city email address, instead of their private accounts, he said.

Town Clerk Susan Mooney has estimated that her office runs “two reams of paper” though one of two high-tech photocopiers every other week to make info packets for councilors. Those books, often up to 90 pages each, are then hand-delivered to councilors at their homes by city police officers.

Not counting labor from cops and staffers, taxpayers shell out $2,316 per year to keep councilors up to speed. Over the expected three-year life span of an iPad, said Gailey, the cost of paper, toner and photocopier amortization comes to $6,948.

By contrast, he said, seven 16-gigabyte iPads can be had for $4,303. Paying $25 per month, per machine, for a 3G data plan would add $6,300 over three years, for a total cost of $10,703.

Although that would seem to make iPads a more expensive option, few on the council seemed to object.

“I like the idea of a green solution,” said Mayor Rosemarie De Angelis. “I like that more than any cost savings, although I do think the savings will be there long-term.”

Although Councilor Tom Blake said the data plan is needed, in case councilors are ever somewhere without Wi-Fi access, others, such as councilors Alan Livingston and James Hughes, seemed to side with local resident Albert DiMillo, who attended the meeting just long enough to say his piece.

“This makes no sense to me,” he said, during a resident comment period. “Why are you wasting $7,000, just so you can have 3G? Wi-Fi is everywhere. It’s at McDonald’s, it’s at the library, it’s here [at city hall]. Why waste $7,000 just so you can have access in the one or two places in the world that doesn’t have Wi-Fi?”

Hughes said he could live without 3G, but DiMillo made it clear he is not exactly on board with the iPad concept, even in a Wi-Fi configuration.

“Why are we all so excited about iPads?” he asked. “It’s a nice toy. It’s good for games. Other than that, it’s a nightmare. Buy a real computer if you want a computer. For half the price, you can get a real computer with 10 times the memory and 10 times the storage, with a 10-inch screen.”

However, as councilors noted at the Aug. 1 workshop, a similar laptop program adopted by the council in 2003 quickly “petered out.” According to IT Director Shawn Pennington, many older members of the board simply did not take to the new technology at the time.

“They’d read things on the laptop, but then take notes on paper,” he said.

Another complication, Pennington admitted, was that he would not let the laptops leave City Hall, for fear of viruses, worms and other computer bugs. By contrast, councilors will have full use of the iPads, if purchased. However, that led to the one real hackle raised thus far.

During the workshop, drafts of email and iPad use policies, crafted by Gailey and City Attorney Sally Daggett, were reviewed. One passage put councilors on the hook for the full cost of any iPad “lost or stolen.”

“This makes me think, why am I being punished?” asked Councilor Maxine Beecher. “Because that’s what this reads like.”

Other passages say a councilor can lose iPad privileges for misuse, or violation of email protocols.

“What then?” asked Beecher. “Are you going to pay to provide me with hard copies again?”

“If we penalize them the way it’s written, then the councilor becomes ineffective – can’t do his job,” said Blake.

“We may have to tweak that section a bit,” said De Angelis.

Councilor Tom Coward also agreed that certain passages of the use policy include “heavy-handed sanctions.” However, only Livingston voiced real reservations with the proposal.

“I think the intentions are great,” said Livingston. “I think it’s great what we’re trying to do. But it appears the upfront cost is more expensive than what we’re doing right now. I’m not totally convinced yet that it’s time to do it.”

“I think we do need to justify that we’re not just purchasing a frill,” said Blake.

The council may return to the possibility of a bulk iPad purchase as soon as Aug. 22, when they will meet in a workshop session, scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., at the community center.