Council Approves Use of Electronic Devices at Meetings

The city council voted 7-0 Monday to allow iPads and other electronic devices at city meetings, but created a specific use policy barring members from sending communications to other council members, members of the public or any other people or companies associated with items up for discussion.

Council agreed that purchasing separate iPads for council members (estimated at $9,000) was not feasible given the city's economic situation. Nor was barring council members and other other elected officials who wanted to use their own devices, especially when many said they found them useful for downloading reports and other documents related to meetings and looking up information as it was being discussed.

Previously, critics said that allowing council members, planning commissioners and others debating city business to use electronic devices created the possibility of letting them communicate with each other, members of the public or outside interests in violation of the Brown Act.

The new resolution does not address this concern, but says that communicating information outside what is already available to the public is illegal, although communicating in instances of a family emergency is fine.

To read more, check out Press Democrat's coverage of this issue.

Then tell us, are you satisfied with the outcome? Do you trust Petaluma City Council and other elected officials to not use their devices to send illegal messages?