Agenda - 10-06-2011 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 6, 2011 Action Agenda Item No. 3 SUBJECT: Paperless Agenda Options DEPARTMENT:. Information Technologies PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTAGFiMENT(S): Agenda Automation Options INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Jones, {919) 245-2285 PURPOSE: To review options for managing the Board of County Commissioners' agenda process. BACKGROUND: Since 1997, Orange County has been using_ various technologies and updated business-processes to create meeting. agendas, distribute them to elected officials and staff, and make them available to the public via the County's Internet site. .The processes and technologies matured and in 2000, entire agenda packages, including attachments, were regularly posted on the County Internet site in advance of the meetings. These web-accessible agenda materials are increasingly relied upon by the public to learn about issues under consideration by the Board of Commissioners. The production process for the Board- of Commissioners' regular meetings is coordinated by the Manager's Office, where staff collect submissions, route them through appropriate approval processes and aggregate the finished- components into a "master" agenda packet. This packet is then printed out, collated, etc. into 24 paper copies, averaging 500 pages per regular meeting. A copy of this regular meeting paper packet is delivered by Sheriff's office deputies to each Commissioner 5-7 days before the meeting. A deputy clerk in the Clerk to the Board/County Commissioners' Office then converts the packet into an online file and posts it to the County's Intemet site. Technologies are available that potentially automate much of this process, while providing the Board with electronic format agendas that save paper and delivery costs. It is critical to note that efficiency gains with a change to the existing process rely heavily on having all staff and all Board members adopting the new process. Thus, partial adoption of an automated solution will result in a foss of efficiency-over current processes. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The options presented to the Board in the attachment range in implementation costs from zero to $90,000. Tablet solutions cost approximately $700 each, with a monthly data fee of $50. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board evaluate the options, review the technology presented in the demonstration and discuss next steps for automating the agenda process.