Hutchinson Leader - Comments

fiscallyconservative - you

John Locke — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:20:45 -0600

fiscallyconservative - you hit it right on the head. Every one of those council members will recieve the emailed materials and choose to print them out anyway. Now if they are printing them at home with their own expenses that wont be an issue. However, if they still use the printers at City Center, we have a problem.

Lisa, You bring up some good

RoOsTeR — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:40:32 -0600

Lisa, You bring up some good points about the struggle of raising children and living life. It's not easy and takes a pile of money for sure.
What class is your daughter taking in school that requires a laptop? Must be an AP course of some sort.

Terry, I appreciate your

fiscallyconservative — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:26:11 -0600

Terry, I appreciate your drum banging on attending the council meeting in person. Unfortunately, many of us have jobs that don't allow us to attend at 5:30pm, and we don't get paid to attend as you do. :) Hopefully someone is listening to the "other" forms of communication so our points get considered.

Hail to you alben!!! Free AV

fiscallyconservative — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:18:55 -0600

Hail to you alben!!! Free AV and free OpenOffice are available...use them. Shouldn't the IT person already know this? You are also correct in the fact that the netbooks will not last very long. IF this is really a "need", purchase the netbooks, install the free stuff, and keep the total cost down to $400 each plus IT time. That is getting closer to "small". But...is it still truly a "need"????

I don't have a problem with

alben — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:08:58 -0600

I don't have a problem with the commissioners having laptops. But I do have a problem with the projected costs.

The useful lifetime of a netbook is NOT 6 years, like the city director is planning. A netbook is small in form factor (lightweight and easy to carry around). However is is much less powerful than a regular laptop in regards to processing power and typically has limited amount of RAM. Laptops barely have a useful life of 4-5 years. I don't see how a netbook, which is less powerful, will be able to have a useful life of 6 years.

Instead of using Micro$oft Office, the city offices should consider using OpenOffice which is FREE.

I use Linux, OpenOffice, and free antivirus software. It is all FREE! We Americans are gullible thinking that if we pay a lot for a product, then it must be better. Not necessarily true in all instances. Various cities in Germany have done their research, and are converting to free open source software.

Chacha, you are absolutely

fiscallyconservative — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:52:32 -0600

Chacha, you are absolutely correct in your response to watchdog. If people "cave" on principle items like this, it gives our government mixed messages. We need to hold to principle at all times or we can't approach fiscal responsibility properly. Yeah, this might seem trivial, small, and not worth watchdog's time but some of us feel that "small" is a relative term. When is someone going to step up and say, "this is not a need--therefore we are killing this project". Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing? Mayor?

Mr. Mayor, is this a "want" or a "need". I've asked you this several times and you seem to be avoiding the question. If we could simply ask this question each time we take out the checkbook, things would be MUCH better. If you, and the other check writers did this more often, the citizens would love it. I bet Terry would even do a nice story on how fiscally responsible our leaders were being.

Also, I find the justification a little shaky. My experience with people that use electronic forms, and documents is that most of them want to print it out anyway. So, who would be paying for this? Would they print at home or would they tie into the city printer(s) and use their resources? Or are you saying that you are 100% sure that nobody is going to print the electronic documents? If that is the case, will they be lost when the hard drive crashes?

The justification seems a little unbelievable. Again, I await the good word... "want" or "need"? Oh yeah, keep in mind that IT people come up with very creative ways to justify the "goodies" that they like to purchase. When times are boring, new stuff always breaks the monotony. I wonder if the justification included the cost of Mr. IT's setup and configuration of each of the PC's? It doesn't appear to be part of the equation. There will be a significant amount of time invested in this and the support whenever each council member has problems with their laptops. If this isn't part of the justification analysis, then, "Houston, we have a problem".

I will await the verdict(s).

That $11,000 is just a

Chacha — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:39:53 -0600

That $11,000 is just a start. That does not cover maintenance, possible damage and who knows what else. Are they leasing them or buying them? And the city can not afford to spend the entire amount right now. We are cutting services and are sending people to San Diego, Wanting to buy computers? What??? It all comes down to if they need a computer then get there own. It is not the tax payers fault they do not have a newer computer. Hey look if we cut out the paper and copies and had everyone buy there own computers we could save $11,000 and more. Isn't this about saving money not shifting the money to something else.

Terry, EXCELLENT... lol

RoOsTeR — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:33:40 -0600

Terry,
EXCELLENT... lol

Terry, I think they have

RoOsTeR — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:30:06 -0600

Terry, I think they have every right to have the laptops. At first i thought the cost of software was high, but i guess it is totally in line.
I think the cost is also in line and the value is justified too. If they use them for personal use too, who really cares. It's a small price for the members of this group having to be in this group.
The laptops are a tool no different than tools in other trades.

I think that jlh and chacha

hutchinsonwatchdog — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:10:17 -0600

I think that jlh and chacha have missed everything that Terry has said. The money is already being spent on the agendas because they are currently being printed out. This is not an extra expense here people. It will be CHEAPER in the long run than the continued use of paper agendas. I guess I don't see what is so hard to understand here. It is in black and white. In the article, it is stated as a SAVINGS of $1,342. How is this not a win all around? I guess I am just confused on how this is a bad deal.

My daughter does use this

justlisahere — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:46:02 -0600

My daughter does use this computer.... but she is getting to the point where she will be needing a laptop for school. when she is home, she is on the computer doing her home work. but it is not like she can take this one to school now is it? She just can not plug our pc there and back.

i think if the city council wants laptops they can do what everyone else does, by them their selves. Tax payers pay for enough as it is. we pay for our streets, our lights, our water and everything else. the working person pays for those who sit idly by on their butts collecting welfare(those who make no effort to look for a job)and foodstamps. I am just fed up with how tax payers pay for everything and then those same tax payers can not even get their own child soemthign they need for school, but they can thru their tax dollars get a city official an lap top. Now you can not say that does not make you mad. when do we as tax payers say hold the phone, why cant you buy your own and just claim it on your filing?My husband and I are putting money aside for her lap top.If we are going to get her a lap top it will be a nice one and not some cheap one. by this fall we should have the money for it.Yet these council members think we tax payers have no problems? I do. what is wrong with the used ones for them? or if they dont like that then buying their own? when do we as tax payers say no more? I am fed up with the deadbeats who sit on their butts and collecting welfare and buying their kids nice things at my tax dollars yet my kids go without. I lived next door to a woman who made sure she never made the amount of money to lose welfare or foodstamps. her kids would come to our house and say look what my mom bought or look at this and here are my kids just being made to feel horrible because their mom and dad did not spend 90-100 on a pair of cowboy boots, or 50-60.00 on a video game because they felt paying the electric or mortgage payment was more important.The woman would come home and brag about buying expsensive cuts of meat and we ate ground round because she had food stamps.

My husband and I work our butts off to provide for our kids and if there is something they have got to have,we make the sacrifice to give for them.... we dont ask the tax payers to do so. We pay a huge high price on taxes in minnesota and I think if we are going to do so it should be for programs and road repairs and other things. not giving citycoucil people laptops. sorry. But I just don't think saying in this economic time it is right or fair to say we tax payers have to go and buy them laptops when they could buy their own.If that makes me a bad person oh well then I am bad person.

Hey watchdog, It seems

Chacha — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:02:43 -0600

Hey watchdog, It seems people like you cave into anything the city wants, as you see I said wants not needs. If you like this idea then good for you. You must be a Obama supporter. I am not okay with spending $10,000 on computers for email. If I need something for my job that is not at the office it is my obligation to buy it not the companies, yet expect tax payers to pay for it give me a break.

Here's a thought JLH, let

Terry Davis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:45:57 -0600

Here's a thought JLH, let your daughter once in a while use whatever computer you are using. Won't cost you a dime other than some time.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

The city council wants

justlisahere — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:22:13 -0600

The city council wants laptops? well people in hell want ice water too but does that mean they are going to get it courtesy of the devil himself? No. Is there a reason these people can not buy themselves one and not us tax payers?just about every place has a visa or master card to charge things on. Or better yet why not buy one with their tax return? Stop using us tax payers to buy your things. My daughter needs a laptop for school work but we can not afford one,but yet as a tax payer I am supposed to buy someone on the city council one? does this mean my daughter can come on over and use it since we can not buy her one?

My son has problems with

justlisahere — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:15:59 -0600

My son has problems with sitting still at times in class..... that is why they take him out of class with his adhd and mild autism on the days he is unable to sit still and let him run off that energy.Uusally it does not take long. But He has never been taken out to do such an activaty and my husband said no way would he permitt our son being taken out of school for an hour or two to do the happy dance, he can do that when he is home my husband said.
also in regards to the middle school being mainly for socialization... yes there is that too. BUT they are there for educational purposes as well.My son's fave class is science where he does fairly well.
I am not knocking what this teacher is doing. I know several of the kids who do this happy dance and they like it alot, especialy since they get out of class lol, but the teacher should have it for after school hours not during.