County Plans to Save Money by Going Paperless

County Plans to Save Money by Going Paperless - The Missourian: County

Posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 9:15 am

County Plans to Save Money by Going Paperless

The Franklin County Commission may soon go to a paperless system to conduct its meetings.

This is an attempt to save money and time, said Presiding County Commissioner John Griesheimer.

The county’s current system is archaic, Griesheimer said.

He noted that the commissioners get large stacks of documents each meeting. Some of the documents could include lengthy contracts that could be viewed on a computer rather than spending money on paper and ink, Griesheimer said.

Going to a paperless system will require a program called e-Boardroom, which will cost about $350 a month.

“It’s going to bring us into the 21st century,” Griesheimer said. “We kill a lot of trees here.”

It is hard to say how much the county spends printing documents for meetings, he added.

A paperless system also will save time because the lengthy packets will no longer have to be printed and assembled, Griesheimer noted.

He said he hopes the e-Boardroom system can be running in the next couple of months.

The e-Boardroom program also will save the county money since hiring a court reporter for planning and zoning meetings and board of adjustments meetings will no longer be required.

Griesheimer said e-Boardroom can electronically take the minutes of those meetings, saving the county the $75 an hour cost of hiring a court reporter.

“That’s real money we’re saving,” Griesheimer said.

Other local government entities also have gone paperless including the Washington City Council, Union City Council, Washington School Board and Union School Board.

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Posted in County on Wednesday, February 20, 2013 9:15 am.