03 September 2014

IT Cost Review, is it necessary?

The following letter to the editor appeared in this week's Eastern Courier from my fellow Councillor, a matter he raised at the most recent Council meeting.  While I declined a second phone line some time ago and have never had a colour copier I do find the other items useful to do my wok as a Councilor. When I suggested several years ago that Councillos no longer required Council to pay for a separate phoneline my fellow Councillors did not support my view. The savings from issuing each Councillor with an iPad have quickly diminished as most still receive a paper agenda and deliveries still occur weekly to Councillors homes. I doubt that many savings in this matter would ever be realised and what savings there could be found wouldn't actually see too many footpaths paved. What do you think is far and reasonable?


Eastern Courier Messenger, Adelaide
IT MAY not be popular with some of my fellow Unley ouncillors, but I believe that we need to review the IT quipment provided to eleced members (and funded by he ratepayers).



Currently, councillors receive a telephone line, a fax machine, a notebook PC, software, an iPad, a colour printer, a modem and an inernet service.

That is excessive and unwarranted. I have asked the Unley CEO to review the list of equipment available to ouncillors.

We need to do that now, prior to the election. That may need a policy revision.

Some councillors may squirm at the suggestion but, during the approaching caretaker period, they will not be permitted to use counil assets for election puroses.

The savings will enable nother street to be paved.

BOB SCHNELL Goodwood Ward councillor, City of Unley

2 comments:

  1. I think there is merit in what Bob Schnell wrote.
    Surely the cost is worthy of a review.
    Surely it should be either an iPad or a notebook and not both.

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  2. What Bob had to say certainly has merit. However, the report about it to be debated next Monday complicates the matter. council emails are just that, if we use our personal devices for them then Council will have no record of the emails. All emails sent by Councillors must be retrievable and captured by records management. This is all part of the new ICAC rules. So we would need to live without our iPads and go back to paper agendas. I could live with that. But I would be buying myself an iPad as they are very useful items.

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