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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.G.1. Acquisition of Hardware and Software for Paperless Meeting Packets City of Shakopee 10. 6. 1 • MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator SUBJECT: Acquisition of Hardware and Software for Paperless Meeting Packets DATE: August 29, 2012 Requested Action The Council is asked to provide direction regarding whether or not to proceed with a transition to paperless agenda packets. If the Council wishes to proceed, a motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $45,000, plus tax and shipping, for the purchase of AgendaQuick software and related hardware would be needed. Background For decades, a regular part of conducting the business of the City has been preparation of agenda packets for the City Council and the City's various advisory boards and commissions. The packets contain the printed agenda for the meeting, as well as staff memos and background information for each item on the agenda. Packets are printed for the voting members of the body, as well as staff and the City Attorney. Looking back over the past year, we estimate that staff has prepared roughly 100 agenda packets, plus another 50 versions of the Activity Report that is distributed weekly. By the time staff compiles 150 unique packets and then prints and collates them for each member and related staff, slightly over 2,000 packets are put together each year, totaling more than 230,000 pages of printed paper. Packets are then sent via U.S. mail to each Board or Commission member and personally delivered to elected officials by a Community Service Officer. Over the past five years, numerous other local units of government have converted from paper to electronic packets. There are many software products on the market that allow staff to compose memos and reports, electronically route them to a supervisor for review and approval and then send them on to administrative support staff for inclusion in the packet. Rather than copying and collating all of these items into a paper packet, with paperless packet software one person simply watches for each item to be submitted and with a few clicks of the mouse publishes the completed packet. At that point it becomes available to Council members, staff and any member of the public with an Internet connection. Software Recommendation A small group of staff reviewed five software options, which were then narrowed to two. Those options were then demonstrated to a larger group of employees. Of the products reviewed, a majority favored a software product called AgendaQuick. AgendaQuick is currently used by the Minnesota cities of Coon Rapids and Ramsey and staff at both cities highly recommended it. One of the factors that sets AgendaQuick above other software options is the fact that is has no limit to the number of staff that can login to submit memos and reports, no limit to the number of Boards and Commissions that it can be utilized for, and no limit to the number of public connections to view and read the resulting packets. It provides an easy to navigate packet, which can also be easily downloaded and printed. Lastly, AgendaQuick will archive and search past packets. AgendaQuick also includes the ability to quickly and easily generate meeting minutes, without a lot of the retyping or cutting and pasting that is currently required. This is part of the purchase price of AgendaQuick and a feature we could start using as soon as staff is comfortable with the paperless packet process. Down the road, the City could also opt to move its current web streaming of Council meetings to a streaming service offered by AgendaQuick. This would be an added cost, but would provide residents with a one -stop shop for access to agendas, supporting staff memos, minutes and video of any of our meetings. A short demonstration of how Councilmembers and the public would work with AgendaQuick will be provided during Tuesday night's Council meeting. Hardware Once the packet is created in a paperless form, some type of electronic reader will be needed to view it. Staff is recommending that iPads be purchased and checked -out to each elected official, as well as Department Heads, to use for this purpose. These iPads would come with a Verizon card that provides wireless Internet service to the device. A second set of iPads would also be purchased and stored in a charging cart within the Council Chambers. These would be used by members of the City's various Board and Commissions when they arrive to participate in a meeting and would receive their Internet connection via a wireless network in the Council Chambers. Board and Commission members would be asked to use their own computer, laptop or tablet device for reviewing the electronic packet prior to the meeting. Board or Commission members without access to the Internet or a personal computer would have the option to continue requesting paper copies of their packets for the foreseeable future. Lastly, the City would need to invest a modest amount to upgrade the wireless Internet connection within the Council Chambers and to add electrical outlets under the dais, to prevent dead battery problems in the middle of a meeting. Budget Impact The initial investment for hardware and software to support this project is $44,050 (not including tax or shipping for the hardware). Annual costs to operate and maintain the system are expected to total $12,200. Please see Attachment A for a detailed listing of the project components and their costs. In return for this investment, the City would be making the process of conducting City business more environmentally friendly and would make it possible to redirect staff time from the tedious task of copying and collating packets to more value -added projects. However, the direct savings in terms of paper and printing costs is only in the neighborhood of $2,000 or $3,000 and will not offset the start-up and annual operating costs outlined above. Funding options to complete this project yet this year include use of the General Fund fund balance or spending down the carry-over balance in the IT Fund. Another option for a portion of the cost would be the Research and Development Fund within the Telecommunications Division budget, which currently has $27,000. However, these funds are typically spent on the recommendation of the Telecommunications Advisory Commission (TAC), which has not yet reviewed this project. The TAC's next meeting is September 26, if Council wishes to have them review this item. Relationship to Vision: This item relates to Goal B: Positively manage the challenges and opportunities presented by growth, development and change; and Goal E: Deliver effective and efficient public services by a staff of well - trained, caring and professional employees. Requested Action: If the Council wishes to proceed with this project, it is asked to offer a motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $45,000, plus tax and shipping, for the purchase of AgendaQuick software and related hardware to institute a paperless meeting packet process, and to indicate the desired funding source for these expenditures. UPFRONT COSTS HARDWARE AMOUNT COST /UNIT COST NOTES iPads with data 15 $629 /each $9,435 16GB (5 for council, 2 for IT /Telecom, 8 for department heads) iPads (Wi -Fi) 10 $499 /each $4,990 16GB (cart iPads for other commission, boards, etc.) Accessories 25 $155 /each $3,875 screen protector, stylus, case, iAnnotate app, extended warranty, etc. $18,300 Infrastructure Charging Cart for Wi -Fi iPads $2,700 Charge, sync, store, and secure up to 30 iPads City Hall Wi -Fi $3,000 Council Chamber Area Electrical at dais $1,600 Outlets at dais plus one in iPad cart closet $7,300 Software Paperless Packet Management Software $18,450 First year investment (licensing, setup) TOTAL $44,050 ONGOING COSTS Monthly Costs Mobile Device Management Software 25 $8 /each $200 Verizon Wireless Data Service 15 $35 /each $525 Monthly $725 Annually $8,700 Annual Costs PP Software Maintenance Agreement $3,500 I TOTAL $12,200 1