West Melbourne City Council Member D’Amico asked fellow Council Members to consider the appropriateness of the City purchasing new i-PADs for communication purposes by the City Council.  He noted the Council agreed to purchase laptops four years ago in order to shift from paper to a digital format.

However, the laptops did not reduce the amount of paper.  Other difficult financial decisions had to be made to cut expenses at the City and he did not want to spend taxpayers’ money.  He stated he believed this purchase should be discussed publicly.

The City Council discussed the use of the laptops as a communication tool while many of the word processing functions of the laptop were not necessary.  The i-PAD could provide a better view mechanism to read City documents.

The City Council discussed the cost of the i-PADs in relation to replacement costs for the laptops.  It was noted that the i-PADS were slightly less expensive but had less functionality.  When asked about funding for the laptops, City Manager Morgan noted the line item for laptop replacement was budgeted at $19,000, of which $6,800 was left in the account.

Council Member Hazlett moved to purchase 5 i-PADs for 5 City Council Members.

Council Member Eley seconded the motion.

The motion passed 4-3 in a roll call vote, with Council Members D’Amico, Jones and Young opposed.