County rolls out new online digs 

San Luis Obispo County unveiled a new online agenda system it hopes will save about 235,000 pieces of paper each year, as well as $20,000 annually in printing costs.

County officials launched the new system about two weeks ago and are working to bring it completely online. Implementing the new system, which replaces the county’s old online catalog of Board of Supervisors’ and other agency agendas, began last August as part of a larger county plan to go green and save some scratch. So far, only the Board of Supervisors has been given the facelift, but other bodies—such as the county planning commission—are also in line.

County Administrator Jim Grant called the new arrangement “cheaper, faster, better” when he gave an overview at the April 3 Board of Supervisors meeting. The county allocated $100,000 of its current budget to implement an “automated agenda management system,” and this project came in at $60,332. It will shift agendas from paper to digital, saving the county $20,000 a year in printing costs. Minus the added maintenance, the county is hoping to come out with a net savings of $16,656.

County Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald went through the ins and outs of the new online setup for county agendas, which will likely take local wonks some getting used to. But, she said, “we go to great effort to make sure the public has access.”

Rodewald encouraged people who have questions to call her office at 781-5080 or to e-mail through the clerk-recorder section of the county web site: slocounty.ca.gov.

At least one person, Mike Brown of the Coalition of Labor Agriculture & Business of San Luis Obispo County, said he’s had some technical issues with the new layout and suggested the county hold a class for people who might be more used to the old-fashioned paper method. ∆