Cheney council gets an upgrade

Shortly, Cheney City Council members will have a new tool to with which to do their work.

At its Sept. 12 meeting, the council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing a policy governing the use of iPads by its members. The policy covers the “issuance, ownership, usage and loss/damage of the units.”

It’s a policy and idea Councilwoman Jill Weiszmann has been a proponent of for a long time. Appointed in February 2011 and subsequently elected in 2011 and reelected in 2015, Weiszmann said the move will be a “huge cost savings to the city” in time and materials, particularly during budget season when collating all of the financial data from the various departments consumes the time of one individual.

Weiszmann also noted that many cities and other governing bodies have gone to electronic devices for similar uses.

“I believe it was time for us to catch up in that respect,” she added.

In creating the policy, City Administrator Mark Schuller borrowed parts he felt appropriate from other cities policies.

“ I tried to pick and choose the stuff that made common sense,” he said.

The iPads, which the city already has due to a conversion to Windows-based devices within the Public Works Department, will be assigned to council members by the City Clerk’s office, with a password issued by Finance Director Cindy Niemeier. The devices must be returned if a member leaves the council for any reason.

All agenda packets will now be sent to members in electronic format, but hard copy can be made available upon request. The iPads are only for conducting city business, and council members must receive prior approval of the Finance Director before installing other software.

The iPads can be used for sending and receiving email, including on occasion personal communications; preparing and storing incidental personal data and accessing the Internet for personal searches and inquiries “provided the council member adheres to all other City policies.”

Council members are prohibited from using the iPads for activity running counter to city policies, non-city business, religious and political causes and election-related activities. Finally, all data stored on the iPads, including notes made by members, is subject to the Public Records Act disclosure requirements.

Several years ago, members of a Western Washington governing body were caught using their electronic devices to send texts and emails during meetings, essentially attempting to line up votes on issues. Schuller acknowledged the risk in this, and said it would be the conversation he intends to have with council members once they begin using the iPADs, making it clear such behavior runs counter to disclosure laws and transparency.

“If you see a bunch of typing going on (during meetings), we’re going to have a face-to-face with that council person,” he added.

Right now, the devices aren’t being used just yet. Schuller said there are still some software bugs to resolve, such as note taking, and the need to make sure the software works correctly. He hopes to have the devices ready by the beginning of October.

Schuller agreed with Weiszmann that the iPads will reduce the city’s costs associated with documentation, while also hopefully increasing efficiency. Part of the latter will come for Weiszmann from being able to replace an old, laptop she is using to conduct city business currently with a more efficient device.

The device keeps locking her out, requiring her to go into City Hall and to have her password changed, something she says happens about every 90 days. The only other option is her personal computer.

“I don’t want to put the city (business) on my personal PC,” she said.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.