Thursday evening was a new first for the Murfreesboro City Council, with no paper agendas distributed among councilmembers.
Instead, council members received Apple iPads and will be sent digital agendas with associated documents from now on.
Additionally, paper agendas will no longer be distributed to the press and various departments but will be available in digital form from the city's website.
The iPads remain city property and must be returned by city councilmembers upon leaving office.
All documents including e-mails and personal data on the devices are subject to Tennessee Open Records Law.
The paperless initiative is part of the 2012 city budget and will save the city extensive costs for printing, collating and distributing the weekly agenda.
City Manager Rob Lyons was especially pleased with the new paperless initiative.
"Producing a paper agenda involved an average of 5,000 copies being made each week, the man hours to produce them, and paying a city employee to drive around the city distributing them," Lyons said. "The costs in printer toner and incidental expenses are tough to calculate, but over all costs to taxpayers will be significantly reduced."
Business coming before the council, all gaining unanimous approval, included:
• Second reading of an amendment to Murfreesboro's zoning ordinance disallowing rides such as ferris wheels permanently installed in business parking lots, much like the one installed at the Hickory Hollow Carnival Kia dealership.
• A new memorial & donation policy for Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation, which places sole authority in Parks & Rec Director Lanny Goodwin to approve or deny proposals for memorials and donated items.
• A resolution requesting assistance from the Tennessee Department of Transportation for roadway improvements associated with development of the Project Tango site. TDOT expects to spend $812,807 building turn lanes and traffic signals for entrance and egress at the Joe B. Jackson Parkway site. |
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