North Liberty forges a paperless future

In the summer of 2011, the City of North Liberty discarded paper agenda packets for council and commissions in exchange for iPads. Staff estimates the savings in time, ink, paper and other resources to be over $10,000 per year. Plus, North Liberty is one of  the first municipalities in Iowa to make such a transition.
Cheryle Caplinger, Director of Telecommunications, says, “When we decided to distribute the information digitally, we contacted many Iowa governments for guidance. Some noted they were investigating similar technology, but none had taken the plunge. So, it looks like we are the groundbreakers.” Caplinger continues, “We considered laptops, e-readers and iPads, while also taking into account usability, flexibility, mobility and, of course, cost. We knew the chosen system would not be used for archiving, but we required write-on capability. We also wanted to sync them with ease, keep software expenses low and access Internet, email and other applications without difficulty. iPads became the obvious choice.”
With the relocation of North Liberty Council Chambers, councilors were issued iPads to use before, during and after meetings, while commissioners only use them when they are in session. Paper is limited to agendas, scratch paper and an occasional easel presentation. City Administrator, Ryan Heiar says, “We are helping the community by saving natural resources. Plus, we are on the forefront of using an ever-popular technology. We are proud to be one of the first and we would gladly share our ideas with interested cities.”
Mayor Tom Salm adds, “The training was easy and, let me tell you, these things are slick. The innovation is fantastic and we are going greener all the time.”
For more information and feature articles on North Liberty’s iPads, check out American City and County and The League of Iowa Cities publication CityScape.