The Chicago Daily Herald
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. —Almost since Apple launched the iPad two years ago, government boards have tried to get their hands on the costly tablet, usually to the chagrin of taxpayers who don’t understand why a school board, city council or any other public commission would need one at their expense.
The latest attempt to secure the flashy devices comes from the Hoffman Estates Firefighters Pension Board. The unpaid five-member panel, made up of two current firefighters and one retired firefighter appointed by their brethren as well as two residents appointed by the mayor, voted 3-2 at a February meeting to purchase the iPads at a total cost not to exceed $3,000.
But now they might be having second thoughts.
“None have been purchased at this time,” said Kevin O’Donnell, a Hoffman Estates firefighter and president of the pension board who voted in favor of the purchase. “I think we’re going to look into other options.”
The board’s next meeting is later this month and O’Donnell didn’t expect any action before then. The pension program is funded by both contributions by firefighters and tax dollars from the municipality. It is valued at about $18.2 million, according to minutes from the February meeting.
Robert Gorvett was one of the board members who voted against the purchase. While he opposed buying the devices at all, he was particularly disturbed about a specific caveat in the measure that would have allowed the devices to become personal property of the board members if they served more than one year.
The iPads “certainly have a benefit in this day and age, but I do not believe it’s an inappropriate purchase with taxpayers’ money,” he said. “For the limited number of meetings we have, it’s just not justifiable.”
The board meets about four times a year to go over the fund’s financial details. It’s worth noting that iPads do not come equipped with a calculator function. Firefighter Dave Leslie was the other board member to vote against the purchase.
The board’s attorney, Stanley Jakala, said there was nothing illegal about purchasing the devices, but giving them to members who served more than a year required him to “check on that.”
“You can’t give away government property. And if you can, you shouldn’t. It’s crazy,” said Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod. “Any monies that the pension board spends that is not related to the pensioners is money I believe is not going to the right purpose.”
So what made the board members believe they needed the iPads?
“We’ve seen iPads used on other boards and it makes accessing the Internet and taking classes and reading articles much easier,” O’Donnell said.
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