Councils embrace technology

The Shire of Harvey is entering into the digital age with a plan to trial the use of iPads to cut down their environmental footprint.

Cr Elaine Hill made a request to include $7000 in the council’s draft 2011-12 budget to trial the use of iPads for councillors and senior staff.

She said the use of iPads would cut down costs and save paper in using the tablets for agendas and standing orders.

The self-confessed technology junkie said she ‘‘was not reinventing the wheel’’ and was introducing a trial motion similar to a trial at the Shire of Dardanup, which was trialling six iPads.

She said the two shires shared an IT department and it ‘‘only seemed fitting’’ to introduce it into the Harvey Shire Council.

Dardanup shire chief executive officer Mark Chester said their six trial iPads were shared between councillors and senior staff and that staff had found the technology ‘‘very useful’’.

Their six-month trial will come to an end in June but Mr Chester said it looked like the council would purchase more iPads.

He said the iPads were a good investment and it was helping to cut down on the use of paper and staff time to reproduce agendas.

The next new technology idea Cr Hill wanted to get off the ground would be to introduce socialmedia as a way for the council to get in touch with its residents.

Dale Bolst from Apple reseller Probyte said the City of Bunbury had also ordered iPads for their staff.