NYT interviews "iPad town" officials

Last month we told you about the North Carolina town that's gone all-iPad for its municipal meeting agendas and reports. The New York Times has now published a brief interview with the town manager and police chief of Cornelius, NC, Anthony Roberts and Bence Hoyle.

Both officials cite the potential cost savings of the iPads versus printing and delivering 4,000 pages worth of agendas for a meeting. They're anticipating about an 18-month horizon before the iPads pay for themselves in reduced dead-tree expenditures, not counting the goodwill benefit of not weighing down the town board with overloaded binders. They also noted that since the iPads are town property, they expect the commissioners to comport themselves appropriately when it comes to inappropriate websites and games.

The police chief even noted that iPad-related mistakes can sometimes work out in the town's favor; he "hit the wrong button" and brought up a webcam feed of a local park, where he spotted a potential nogoodnik roaming about after closing hours. He emailed his deputies and they tracked down the trespasser.