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HomeMy WebLinkAboutiPads_Palm2Jupiter_11/24/201038 Palm 2 Jupiter / November 24, 2010 LOCAL GOVERNMENT Tequesta tech: Managing information to save money BY LEE HINNANT StaffWnter I's a dignified place with plenty of small -town feel. But the Vil- lage of Tequesta is doing some mighty large things with technology. Like many governments, Tequesta has basic forms, council agendas and town news on its website. Te- questa, however, has taken every digital aspect and more to a higher level than many larger cities. Need to know about a weather CUP of JOE MO[(N[NG SHOW WITH ME PAINEIZI If you have spent anytime with sales people then I'm sure at some point you have come across this situation. I'm referring to a common problem (and possibly the most annoying) among those in charge of "selling" a product or service. It's called Clos- ing after the sale.This is when someone GETS what they want, but continues to argue for it. You see this often in the Restau- rant, Real Estate and yes even in the Radio Business. For instance the other day, I was eating at an Italian restaurant with a bunch of friends and the server was one of those who talks and talks and talks causing all at the table to count the seconds until they leave. Unfortunately, the person in charge of coordinating this meal was the kind of guy who can't lay it down and tell someone to shut up, so our ENTIRE table was subjected to the most horrendous type of monologue imagina- ble. Finally, when all of our orders were placed the server CON- TINUED saying why my choice was a good one since it was the softest pasta on the menu, etc. WE ALREADY PLACED THE ORDER. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SELL ANYMORE. PLEASE LEAVE! What ever happened to the art of just listening? Watch for this next time you're out. Collectively we can begin shaming these people into shutting up. M SRADIO MONDAY THRU FRIDAY 7AM -9AM CALL 877.960.9960 SEAVIEWRADIO.0 ©M OR MAIL JOE@SEAVIEWRADIO.0 ©M emergency, bridge closures or prob- lem with the water system? Tequesta delivers automated telephone calls, text messages and e -mails to inter- ested residents. Are you a seasonal resident and want to pay a water bill from else- where? No problem, do it online or with an automated debt system. Want to learn about council de- cisions or backup documents? The user - friendly Tequesta.org has more than 20,000 pages of easy -to -find documents that are linked to related ordinances, resolutions and special exceptions dating back to 1964. The audio portion of council meetings is segregated by topic, a feature not Town Clerk Lori McWilliams ex- pects the iPads to save $4,500 in pa- per and labor in the first year alone, and noted the convenience of hav- ing years' worth of data on a read- ing device. "They don't have to have this big agenda book anymore," she said. The way the documents are set up allows council members to make highlights, annotations or strike - throughs on any document. All doc- uments council receives as part of its agenda package are online and cross - referenced. "I couldn't be happier with it," said Council Member Calvin Turnquest, a proponent of technology in govern- ment. "I just though it would be a available even for meetings of Flori- da's governor and cabinet. Anyone with Internet access can enroll for periodic updates about the budget, police activity and pub- lic notices. But there's more. Last month, the council rolled out iPads for itself and key officials. The result is going 95- percent paper - less, which will save roughly 18,000 sheets in a year. "We believe in having the informa- tion to the residents quickly," said Manager Michael Couzzo Jr. "It's come a long way in a short time." Vice Mayor Tom Paterno said the village had skilled staff members who were making communication more efficient. "I've wanted to inform the public," he said. "That's my goal and it's still my goal." huge cost savings for the residents." Information Technology Direc- tor Brad Gomberg has also helped digitize regular department and fi- nancial reports. He estimates that the village will print roughly 100,000 fewer pages in this year than in fis- cal 2010. "It's kind of expanded into some things that we didn't think about before," Gomberg said. McWilliams said village a -mails are duplicated onto an archival sys- tem that allows searching and vastly reduces the time needed to fulfill public records requests. The manager and clerk continue to each retain a set of printed doc- uments for security and to allow for public inspection by those who chose not use a computer. The next tech move will be to es- tablish a village presence on Face - book, McWilliams said. ■ City Council member Calvin Turnquest shows his Pad, which all city council members received_ Tequesta Village Clerk Lori McWilliams shows how to check online records and the notes from village council meetings.