Chesterfield Council, Staff, Using Work iPads Now

Chesterfield City Council members are now getting iPads loaded with city documents that they typically use for council meetings, officials said Monday.

Another eight city staff members are also now wired with iPads, with the purchase of 16 Apple iPads at $399 each, plus software.

City Councilmember Matt Segal said the initial outlay for the city of $6,800 could be recovered in two years, since the city would save at least $3,000 a year in paper, copying, and time collating, stapling, packaging. 

In May, the city said it would ease council members into the use of electronic documents over a month,typically delivered to the city's eight councilmembers the week prior to a meeting.

Officials pointed out that council members may still print out anything they want in paper form.

The city stopped supplying Chesterfield Patch with paper documents this week, pointing instead to the city's website.

The city council's files would be encrypted for security, according to the city's IT Manager Matthew Haug.

However, city council documents would typically be public information under the law, except for legal proceedings and personnel matters. 

Chief City Administrator Michael Herring supported the move to paperless.

("This) will put  on the cutting edge of municipalities," he said, according to committee minutes.

Employees and elected officials would return the iPads to the city, when they left the posts, officials said. Mayor Bruce Geiger asked about "confidential" data on the devices when it was returned.

It was not immediately clear what city business of public servants fell into that category. 

Segal is chair of the council's Finance and Administration Committee.

For updates, sign on for free Chesterfield Patch newsletters to your inbox. Click here