Daviess County Fiscal Court may soon be switching to paperless court meetings. By using iPads instead of paper agendas, Judge-Executive Al Mattingly believes this switch could make things much easier on staff and commissioners.
One way Mattingly said the iPads could be beneficial is Fiscal Court meeting agendas could be edited prior to meetings without the hassle of having to reprint dozens of paper copies.
“As we get more and more things on our agenda, it becomes harder and harder to get the books in your hands in a timely manner,” Mattingly told commissioners. “By going to paperless, we would go to an iPad with special software.”
That special software would be installed on each commissioner’s iPad, allowing them to highlight parts of the agenda and take notes as they read through it and discuss the items at Fiscal Court meetings.
“I think it would just make it a lot quicker for everybody,” Mattingly said.
County Commissioner George Wathen said he was open to the idea, but that he could stand to be educated about the software before the idea is fully implemented. Commissioner Charles Castlen joked he wasn’t too excited about the changes, but both commissioners were reassured that the transition would be fairly smooth.
“A couple of those software packages I’ve looked at have extensive online training, or someone could come out and train us,” said Fiscal Court Clerk Jennifer Warren. “From what I’ve seen, it’s pretty clear-cut and simple to use.”
Thirteen iPads at $2,600 is the total cost Fiscal Court is looking at for the switch to paperless. Mattingly said the switch would pay for itself in comparison to the cost of paper. That, combined with County commissioners’ ability to get files and agendas in a timely manner, made for a good recommendation in switching to paperless, Mattingly said.
