Stouffville council meetings going paperless

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 6, 2015
By Sandra Bolan

The Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville is going paperless, when it comes to council meeting agendas, reports and minutes.

As of September, the agendas/reports/minutes will only be available in hard copy upon request. Otherwise, people can follow along on their tablets or smartphones while in the council chambers.

“We recognize we need to make things available in different formats,” Ken Turriff, spokesperson for the town, told The Sun-Tribune.

Going paperless will save the municipality 100,000 sheets of paper a year, according to Mayor Justin Altmann, who made the announcement at the start of the July 28 council meeting.

On average, town staff produces 25 agenda packages per council and public meeting. There are 250 pages, double-sided, per package and there are roughly 20 meetings a year, according to Altmann.

The annual cost of paper alone, according to Turriff, ranges from $930 to $1,410.

Along with trees, going paperless will save on staff time spent reproducing the agendas/minutes/reports as well as photocopier maintenance and ink.

The first council meeting in September is on the 1st at 7 p.m.