The electronic and wireless age is supposed to help people communicate better and faster, but councillors here are approaching it slowly.
Council has $10,000 in its budget this year for laptop computers, but after receiving a report from finance director Mike Givens on Sept. 13, councillors decided to put off any purchase for now.
However, they are going to consider wiring the desks at the council horseshoe so they can plug in laptops if they decide to buy them.
Givens told council in his report the province did a request for proposals for laptops and obtained a vendor of record, so the cost will be reasonable.
“We’re lucky to be a part of that,” Givens said.
The cost for six people would run at $6,065, and Givens said there would be some training costs to come, but he noted he could probably help with that.
Givens added, “I know some councillors are hesitant.” Councillor Neil Driscoll is one of them.
“I just don’t think at this time we should put money into laptops,” Driscoll said. “[Other] projects are going over budget. I just don’t see a laptop making me a better councillor.”
Councillor Andy Knetsch said, “The long and short of it is I’m not going to support this motion.”
Councillor Jim Curry said he can support getting rid of stacks of paper that councillors currently deal with and he is willing to use his own laptop to “save some tax dollars … [but] I don’t think all of us need laptops.”
Mayor Bruce Whale said when it comes to toting around paper, it is “kind of a nightmare.” The mayor said he does not think it would take much savings in paper and staff time to recover the cost of buying laptops. Curry said paper costs are a small part, and such things as toner for the printer and staff time copying are higher costs.
Whale wondered if the new website in the township will help councillors. Givens said the new site will help everybody.
Curry asked, “What will it take to get power at the [council] desk stations. We can’t run cords.” Sinnamon said she could have an electrician decide that. Curry said he would rather spend some of the $10,000 in the budget to get council ready to use laptops when it decides to buy them.
Council then deferred a decision on the purchase.
