Editorial - Teaching tablets in Cheshire

As published in the Record Journal Friday January 25, 2013

Cheshire Town Council is behind the times in criticizing Board of Education members for utilizing iPads during meetings.

Recently, Cheshire’s BOE commenced a paperless initiative in a commendable effort to modernize and better implement contemporary technology throughout the education district. Replacing bulky meeting packets with digital tablets also represents savings in paper and manpower costs, though iPad prices assumedly negate much of that.

Still, government officials sound out-of-date in questioning use of handheld computerized gadgets. BOE members would be doing Cheshire great disservice if, as one councilman suggested and editorial cartoonist John Grabar depicted on today’s page, they employed iPads leisurely amidst meetings. We see no reason to suspect that Hulu or Angry Birds will prove so distracting that academic business becomes ignored.

Concerns about confidentiality of wireless devices also are unfounded, as these tablets are perfectly secure as long they’re not misused. (We partially allude, of course, to the dreaded misclicked “Reply to all” email button).

While long-term savings on switching to expensive iPads are dubious, the value is in hands-on understanding of tablets’ educational potential. Town councilor Andy Falvey claimed no difference between bringing them to a BOE meeting versus a laptop. He has missed the point.

Current and future students likely will not use laptops in classrooms. Those computers are bulky compared with small, thin tablets. iPads and similar models provide pupils enormous learning possibilities — interactive lessons and all of history’s information— without being so big that they block views or become unwieldy.

Moreover, it’s important for the BOE to experience personally what tablets can offer. This board will make decisions as to what extent tech is applied throughout town schools. Cheshire High School already has begun encouraging learning through technology, with Dodd Middle School set to proceed similarly. It’s a “natural progression,” aptly observed School Superintendent Greg Florio of such modern measures (R-J, 1-19). For that progression to be as smooth and effective as possible, BOE representatives must grasp thoroughly what they are permitting students use of in classrooms.

While not as anti-iPad as his colleague, council member Tom Ruocco stated that he simply prefers working with paper. That’s a sentiment many of us can comprehend, particularly readers who favor tactile books over e-texts.

But regarding classrooms, the future is undeniably digital. Students and teachers have much to gain in this tech-and-academic evolution. And for Cheshire schools to keep pace with industry advancements, BOE officials must be conversant with the operational and educational aspects of the latest handheld technology.

Letter to the editor of the Record Journal - Forward vision

Editor: “Moving Wallingford Forward” is going to take many things. Understanding where we’ve been, what we’ve done well, and if it is still relevant to do so to keep doing it. Accepting what we’ve done incorrectly or inefficiently and to not repeat those efforts. We need to understand the changes in the landscape in order to navigate the terrain that is in front of us.

Technology will offer more ease of access, open government, more services and allow us to streamline work that needs to be done and make our government more efficient. We will find ways to do more with less and by attrition through retirements and promotions we will shrink the cost of Wallingford government and some of the tax burden on the taxpayer. The Incentive Housing Zone will rejuvenate the Wallingford Center; that means more businesses, a growing grand list, and more people from out of town spending money in Wallingford. The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail project will put a commuter train through town and allow people to get to this new and rejuvenated Wallingford Center that will develop over the next 10 to 20 years without the need to bring a car and park it. Affordable housing will develop in the zone which allows for good housing for young adults that would use that commuter rail-line to get to and from work anywhere from Springfield to New York City. This would allow young adults to return back home after college and allow them to afford to live in the town they grew up in as well as attract young professionals from out of town to discover Wallingford and to call it their new home.

“If you build it, they will come.” But we must have forward vision and strategic planning in place for it to happen.

JASON ZANDRI , WALLINGFORD TOWN COUNCIL

D-CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR

Cheshire school board’s iPads draw criticism from Town Council but the savings is “right there”

An article in the Cheshire Citizen titled “Cheshire BOE’s iPads draw some cavils” outlines a perfect example of the cost of new technology and the minimal time to return on the investment (ROI) and the savings generated.

In the article the following gross savings were outlined:

The Board of Education saves about $100 per meeting by using the iPads, Florio said. Normally, a police courier must be paid overtime to deliver meeting packets to board members. The packets often contain confidential information, which is why a police courier is used. Savings are also realized through the cost of paper.

“For the most part, we’ve cut down on copying and binders,” Florio said. “We certainly spend some money preparing and delivering packets.”

The cost of the units was also outlined:

Florio said each device costs about $400, slightly discounted from retail price

But let’s skip that and figure the cost of fully, brand new devices. Let’s look at iPads rather than any other models (yes those might be less expensive but I am going for market mainstream for this example).

Apple - iPad 2 with Wi-Fi – 16GB - $399.99 (at the time I searched this link down) – mind you; I would only suggest this model as a “paper document replacement” device as I feel that 16GB is too small for doing other things with it but as a base model for this use it is perfect.

In an example where 10 would be needed that is $4,000.00 spent. The units are good for three to five years (or longer but let’s call it four).

So let’s use the example of Wallingford Town Council meetings because I think it is fair to assume the costs would be relative.

In 2012 there were over 30 meetings between the regular session meetings, special meetings and the budget meetings. For the sake of argument and being conservative in our cost analysis let’s say there were only 25 meetings for the year.

Given the above that would be a cost of $2,500.00 so in a year and a half (basically) you have gotten the full return on the investment (ROI) and you are generating a net savings beyond that.

Even if the devices lasted only an additional 18 months (for a total of three years only) that is still about $3,700.00 in savings

Also, there is asset recovery at the end of their lifespan. They might only fetch $50.00 a unit used but that would still be $500.00 recovered to the town.

So in 36 months (years one, two and three) you save $3,700.00 and then you sell the used devices for $500.00 for a total of $4,200.00 in cash.

When you go to buy 10 new devices (for use in year four) to replace the 36 month old ones retired and sold, the cost of $4,000.00 is totally negated by the dollars as shown above.

So the 36 months following (years four, five and six) it is all 100% savings that is perpetuated going forward. The total cost of savings in those 36 months, all things being equal, would be $7,500.00

So when people ask “how is spending on technology going to save us money” this is one simple, base use example as already shown by Cheshire (using similar Wallingford examples). 

Town of Southington to accept more credit card payments

As published in the Record Journal Tuesday January 15, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

SOUTHINGTON — Town Manager Garry Brumback announced during Monday’s Town Council meeting that a credit card company has been contracted to expand and connect card payment services to several departments in the town, moving residents a step closer to experiencing a totally digital Town Hall.

The change will allow residents to pay bills online using credit cards. Currently, credit cards can only be used in the Sewer Department, and at the town clerk and tax collector’s office, and each office uses a different point of sales vendor.

“Town Clerk Leslie Cotton has chaired a committee that has consolidated credit card function throughout town,” Brumback said during Monday night’s meeting.

The town has hired PayGOV to extend credit services to the Building Department, Planning and Zoning Department, Engineering Department and Parks and Recreation Department. The change will allow all departments to use the same vendor.

Cotton said that members from several town departments assisted on the committee that she chaired. Cotton said that the committee initially found nine companies, before narrowing its search to four “to bring in and make a presentation.”

After almost six months, Cotton said the committee chose PayGOV “because this is their specialty.”

The company specializes in providing point of sales services to municipalities. Cotton said PayGOV has clients in 30 states, but is just now expanding into the Northeast. “We would be the first in Connecticut,” Cotton said.

PayGOV is offering to install services free of charge. Cotton said the company will be in town beginning the installation process next week.

According to the company’s website, PayGOV “facilitates electronic payment for government and utility payments.”

“Our system allows for use of your card to pay government or utility obligations,” the company’s website states. “With our payment solution, you are able to make a payment for: taxes; utility bills; tuition; licenses; fines and fees.”

“We felt this was a really good choice for us,” Cotton said of choosing PayGOV.

The company’s services will be phased into six new departments, but current services at the tax collector’s office will remain for the time being. Cotton said the department will install the new credit service “in a couple months.”

Residents who chose to pay the town through this service will be charged a convenience fee, Cotton said. Currently, residents are charged either 3 percent or $3 per transaction in the town clerk’s office, and that fee will only go down with the PayGOV. Cotton said the fee per transaction for the company will either be 3 percent or $2. Fees in the Tax Collector and Sewer Department offices are lower, at 2.54 percent, and that lower fee will be honored with the new service provider. The company’s services are “renewed on a monthly basis,” Cotton said.

Town Councilor Dawn Miceli commented that the service will help move Southington closer to Brumback’s goal of a digital Town Hall.

“This seems like such a convenience to residents,” she said.

In other Town Council action, Brumback announced the timeline for the budget process. He said he received budget requests from department leaders on Friday. On Feb. 18, the Board of Finance will receive and review requests before holding a public hearing on March 4. After the public hearing, the Board of Finance will adopt a budget and submit it to the Town Council on April 1. The Town Council will have until May 31 to adopt the town’s final budget for fiscal year 2013-14.

The Windy City Teams with Microsoft on Cloud Strategy

Obviously this is not on scale with anything we could or might do here in Wallingford but it serves as an example to show what can be done when you make a concerted effort to think forward and move ahead and to do so in a way that streamlines efforts, expands services and reduced duplication and in the end, costs.

The Windy City Teams with Microsoft on Cloud Strategy

The following “City of Chicago Adopts Cloud Computing Strategy for City-wide Email and Applications” is from the city’s press release.

You cannot take away the cost savings numbers from the release as they reflect the City of Chicago with nearly as many employees as Wallingford has citizens but (at about two-thirds) but the key take away statements WOULD apply here:

”making our operations more effective and secure and saving taxpayer money”

”leveraging new technologies to streamline and modernize the way we do business in order to provide the residents of Chicago with the best service at the best price”

”The cloud strategy gives City employees the ability to do their jobs more effectively while saving taxpayer dollars, decreasing duplication among departments and streamlining our operations across the board,”

“The cloud strategy is a major step towards our goal of modernizing our information technology. Ultimately, updating the City’s digital infrastructure for the 21st century sets the foundation for innovation that will continue to move us forward.”


Wallingford can have this too – as long as it wants it and wants to keep “Moving Wallingford Forward”

Technology: Can it topple Dickinson?

jkurz@record-journal.com (203) 317-2213
Jeffery Kurz – Commentary

As published in the Record Journal Saturday December 1, 2012

Many have tried. Many have failed.

I’m talking about unseating Wallingford’s Republican mayor, William W. Dickinson Jr., who is the longest serving mayor in the state, if you don’t count Prospect’s mayor, Robert Chatfield.

I may have socks older than my children, who are now in their early 20s, but I’m pretty certain I haven’t had any for longer than Dickinson has been Walling-ford’s mayor, which is now 31 years.

Jason Zandri is the latest to throw his hat into the Dickinson-challenging ring. The Democrat, in his first term as a town councilor, announced Wednesday his candidacy. Dickinson has not announced whether he will run again, and said he will wait until after the town’s budget is passed in the spring, but it will come as a shock if he decides not to seek re-election.

In March, the Record-Journal ran a story about how technologically savvy town councilors were increasingly willing to challenge the mayor on issues concerning the internet and other high-tech stuff. Dickinson had departed from his typical stance on technology by allowing the town’s operating budget to be posted on its website — something you wouldn’t think would be all that earth-shattering, but this is Wallingford under Dickinson’s guidance.

Town government remains behind the times generally. Internet access is limited to a few departments at Town Hall in favor of quaint antiquities like telephones and fax machines.

Zandri, who works as a systems analyst at Bloomberg in New York, is among those tech-savvy councilors who have been challenging the mayor, and is poised now to make technology an issue in the campaign.

He’s already demonstrated a flair for campaigning. While announcing his candidacy, he presented a stack of about 60 letters, the correspondence he’d received in four months as a councilor, as an example of the waste that can ensue from avoiding the opportunities of technology. “This stuff can all be done online,” he said. Yep.

In 2005, I penned a piece in this space under the headline “The Luddite in all of us,” about Dickinson’s aversion to town office use of the internet and email. Luddites were workers in 19th century England who smashed textile machinery in response to unemployment and low wages, and the term has come to refer to any person opposed in principle to technological change. I sympathized, to a degree, with the mayor’s position, basically because there have been times when I have wanted to smash my computer.

But we are now seven years farther into a new century and people walk around with computers in their pockets that are far more powerful than what it took to get human beings to the moon. School systems are increasingly allowing students to bring their own devices into the classroom, recognizing the importance of technology in preparing young people for the future. Against this backdrop, technology aversion at Town Hall appears increasingly myopic.

So Zandri appears to have a good issue. He’s already pointing to ways in which technology can help town government operate more efficiently and is pushing for direct deposit for town employees.

He will likely need more. Dickinson may be old fashioned, but there is a powerful comfort level with his leadership — and that is hard to beat.