City Council Gets iPads

Members of the Fredericksburg City Council ushered in a new digital age at City Hall last night, using iPad's to access documents referenced during their regular bi-monthly meeting. With the devices, councilors were able to access digital versions of the documents using a wireless internet connection. 

"I don't think it could have gone better," said Suzanne Goodman, Fredericksburg's director of I.T. "There wasn't a single issue."

The technological upgrade is designed to replace paper copies of document packets sent out to City Council members in advance of each council meeting. The idea was officially adopted following a council retreat last November where council members had an opportunity to test tablet devices, says City Manager Beverly Cameron. 

"I personally think the iPad is a real game changer in terms of technology," said Cameron, who reported that the first live fire use of the devices went off without a hitch. "All of the council members had taken advantage of personal training from the I.T. staff."

George Solley was impressed with his first working experience with the iPad. He had no trouble interacting with the technology, saying his smartphone used a similar interface. 

"The amount of paper that we go through is astounding. I fill a large trash bag per week for recycling of paper," said Solley after the meeting. "It's not all city stuff, but a lot of it is. Anything we can do to reduce that is worth the effort, and if it pays for itself then all the better."

Deputy Council Clerk Brenda Martin also used the iPad during the meeting as she recorded the minutes of the meeting. Martin is serving as Council Clerk for Tonya Lacey, who is on medical leave. 

"I hoped that it would be the last time I had to produce a paper packet," said Martin, who goes through two reams of paper a week to distribute the packets. 

According to Fredericksburg P.C. Tech Joe Cornelius, who oversaw the integration of the iPad's into the city's digital infrastructure, the devices use custom configuration profiles which pre-define the native wi-fi network used by the tablets, as well as email settings and security options which prevent users from deleting pre-installed applications. 

Mayor Thomas Tomzak praised the internet enabled devices after last night's meeting. 

"It went delightfully well, I didn't have to refer to the paper at all tonight," said Tomzak. 

This reporter noted to Tomzak that he could now read coverage of the meeting as it was being tweeted live. 

"How do you get on Twitter?" Asked the mayor.