Ripon adopts elected‑official electronic‑device policy, asks staff for apples‑to‑apples quotes

The Ripon Common Council voted to adopt an elected‑official electronic‑device policy that would allow council members to use city‑managed tablets for official business and to move away from paper packets. The policy includes a restriction prohibiting council members from communicating with one another via the device during meetings.

Adam Sontag, the city administrator, said staff included draft policy language and procurement proposals in the packet and recommended managed devices for council use. "They're city property...used for council business and city business only," Sontag said, adding the vendor Loyalty would manage the devices and help with updates and open‑records compliance.

Ellen recommended explicitly prohibiting council members from communicating with each other via the devices during meetings, a change the council accepted. Ellen said from past experience “council members may not communicate with one another via device during meetings.” The council adopted the policy by roll call vote.

Members debated device form factor, support and costs. Mark and others favored larger tablets roughly the size of a sheet of paper for readability; one member said high‑end Galaxy S‑series and iPad devices offer comparable multi‑year support. Luke raised a privacy concern tied to attorney‑client privilege and said city work should be kept on a separate, city‑owned device rather than mixing personal and city business.

Council directed staff to get apples‑to‑apples quotes for comparable device sizes and capabilities, pricing for peripherals (keyboards, pens), and to check vendor support for device management; staff also said they could provide printed front pages of the agenda at meetings for members who prefer paper.

The council did not finalize device procurement that night; staff will return with refined pricing and comparisons at a future meeting.