Local Gov'ts Opt for iPads Over Paper

iPad, therefore iAm: A steadily growing number of municipal governments are choosing to use iPads in lieu of paper as the sole medium in which they conduct official government business. According to USA Today, governments in Virginia, Alabama, and California have already made the switch. Hampton, Virginia, Mayor Molly Ward had her city council use the coveted, pricey device, a move that she estimates saved them $18,000 in paper costs. These tech-savvy governments also trumpet the positive ecological impact of their decisions. But some government transparency advocates are concerned with the implications of the sudden lack of a paper trail. Said Megan Rhyne, of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government: "Records generated are subject to disclosure, but we don't have a mechanism for getting those records from an iPad ... Citizens are going to want to be able to see that the iPads are being used as they are touted.”