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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: May 3, 2012 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. a, <br />SUBJECT: Paperless Agenda Process Options <br />DEPARTMENT: Information Technologies PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Todd Jones, (919) 245-2285 <br />PURPOSE: To provide vendor-led demonstrations of two potential paperless agenda solutions, <br />as well as demonstrate an internal solution for managing BOCC meeting materials <br />electronically. <br />BACKGROUND: Since 1997, Orange County has been using various technologies and <br />updated business processes to create meeting agendas, distribute them to elected officials and <br />staff, and make them available to the public via the County's Internet site. The processes and <br />technologies matured and in 2000, entire agenda packages, including attachments, were <br />regularly posted on the County Internet site in advance of the meetings. These web-accessible <br />agenda materials are increasingly relied upon by the public to learn about issues under <br />consideration by the Board of Commissioners. <br />The agenda development and production process is coordinated by the County Manager's <br />office, where staff members collect submissions, route them through appropriate approval <br />processes and aggregate the finished components into a paper master agenda package <br />averaging 500 pages per meeting. Staff then makes 24 paper copies of the package. Copies of <br />the paper agenda packages are delivered by Sheriff's Department deputies to each <br />Commissioner five days before the meeting. A deputy clerk then converts the paper master <br />agenda package into an online file and posts it to the County's Internet site. <br />Technologies are available that potentially automate much of this process, while providing the <br />Board of Commissioners electronic format agendas that reduce paper and delivery costs. It is <br />critical to note that efficiency gains for change to the existing process rely heavily on having all <br />staff and all Commissioners adopt the new process. Thus, partial adoption of an automated <br />solution will result in a loss of efficiency over current processes. <br />It is also important to note that automation efficiencies are gained largely through the <br />development of strict chain of approvals tied to schedules, and staff adhering to same. While <br />