Going paperless

Mount Pearl, C.B.S. councils are there already, and plans for St. John’s are underway

By Dave Bartlett

The Telegram

A paperless revolution has begun at municipal councils around the Northeast Avalon region.

Both Conception Bay South (C.B.S.) and Mount Pearl already hold paperless council meetings, where agendas, committee reports and other documentation are in digital form and accessed through a laptop computer or wireless tablet device.

The City of St. John’s is also well underway to becoming a completely paperless corporate entity, according to city clerk Neil Martin.

Mount Pearl went paperless last fall, according to Mayor Randy Simms.

“We’ve been working out the kinks that are bound to happen.” he said. “But we’re finding it very effective.”

It’s too early to say how much money the city may save on paper, but Simms said that wasn’t the reason council went paperless.

“We never went at it from the perspective that it was going to save us a lot of money and we’re not assuming that it will. It will save us some, obviously. We’re not (using) the reams of paper for a council meeting that we used to use,” he said.

Simms said the intent was one of environmental stewardship.

The council did a fair amount of research on the issue before moving ahead with the plan because it wanted to make sure the right technology would be used.

Then came the Apple iPad.

Simms said laptops are heavy to carry and hold onto, but the iPad is ideal.

In fact, he said the iPad probably weighs less than a paper copy of a committee report.

Beyond each councillor carrying a tablet, Mount Pearl uses dropbox technology, which means all documents are scanned, converted to PDF files and then hyperlinked like a website to allow coucillors to navigate through the agenda to exactly what they are looking for.

Simms said there was a comical drawback at council’s last meeting, when Scouts Canada and the Girl Guides of Canada came to city hall for the proclamation of Scout-Guide week.

The mayor didn’t have a paper proclamation to sign, and neither did the scouts and guides — both only had a digital copy of it. The city clerk had to go print a copy for Simms’ signature.

The mayor said it’s an amusing reality that some paper will still be needed from time to time.

Although council may be paperless, the city is far from it, said Simms.

Mount Pearl wasn’t the first council to go paperless. That distinction goes to C.B.S.

Mayor Woodrow French said his council has been paperless for about a year.

“It’s been working out really, really well,” French said. “Right now, all of our minutes are circulated via computer and when we go to the chamber, our agenda (is) put … up on a flat screen TV for the public.”

He got the idea after attending a paperless city council meeting in Brampton, Ont.

“I said if this could work here, it could work in our municipality, as well,” French said.

When he returned, the council sent a proposal to the Department of Municipal Affairs.

The department gave the town about $70,000 to buy laptops and software for councillors and senior staff, and to get the system set up.

As part of that deal, C.B.S. agreed to share its experience with any other municipalities in the province interested in going paperless.

French also isn’t sure what the town has saved, but said if you take a single committee meeting with six councillors and three staff in attendance, that’s nine stacks of paper which have now been eliminated.

“There’s definitely a savings. How significant, I don’t know,” he said.

The only problem French sees is that technology changes so fast. The year-old laptops are almost outdated, and he likes the iPads Mount Pearl has.

When they replace the laptops in three or four years’ time, the town will likely look at the new tablet technology.

St. John’s Coun. Gerry Colbert has his own iPad, and likes the idea of the capital going paperless.

“I think it’s a great idea. I believe in technology. I love my iPad,” said Colbert.

“It’s so convenient, so portable. It does what it’s supposed to do.”

He agrees too much paper gets used at city hall.

“If you saw the reams of stuff that has to be put out by the city clerk’s office simply because it has to,” he said.

“It would save an enormous amount of time, I think, for staff, and a lot of money and … the environment,” Colbert continued.

Meanwhile, the city clerk explained where the city is in its attempt at paperlessness.

“We have looked at the whole aspect of a paperless environment (at city hall),” said Martin. “It’s a full corporate review we’re doing.”

He said the city is proceeding cautiously to make sure it gets the right system in place for the long haul, including security features.

He said the city has already installed a wireless router in the council chamber and when it upgraded its recording system, it went digital.

That system can transcribe council minutes digitally — instead of having someone type them out — but it hasn’t been used yet.

The city has selected a web-based Microsoft platform to manage its content and work flow, which is currently being installed.

It is also looking at the Research in Motion tablet, as the city already uses the company’s BlackBerrys exclusively.

Martin said the city has hired a consultant to do a department by department review of what needs to be done before the city can go paperless.

He expects the consultant’s report in about six weeks.

Martin said he couldn’t give a further timeline until he receives and reviews that report.

 

dbartlett@thetelegram.com