THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410080273
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
At a cost of $1,439 each, the city is putting top-of-the-line fax machines in the homes of six council members and the city manager.
Although Chesapeake is the last area city to try to improve council communications by providing home fax machines, it is doing it at up to five times the cost of its neighbors.
Portsmouth, for instance, spent $300 each for its machines. Norfolk bought four for about the price of one of Chesapeake's; and Suffolk's cost $695 apiece.
Without any public notice, five City Council members met before an executive session at City Hall on Thursday to learn how to operate the feature-packed machines.
At a retreat this summer, they apparently decided - with no public debate or formal vote - to purchase them. The total bill will exceed $10,000.
No one at the session Thursday seemed to know who was responsible for making the final decision on which model to buy or when it was done.
The equipment was charged to the council's discretionary budget.
In addition, public money will be spent for installation and to provide separate telephone lines for each fax machine.
Council members John E. Allen, John W. Butt, Robert T. Nance, W. Joe Newman, John M. de Triquet and City Manager James W. Rein attended the demonstration.
``I know that I couldn't work at work without a fax,'' said de Triquet before the early evening session started. ``It's really the city's property, and it will help us communicate more swiftly with the city staff - the manager, the city attorney and so forth.''
When asked how much the machines cost and how the model was chosen, de Triquet and other council members in attendance said they didn't know.
``I think we left it pretty much up to the mayor and the vice mayor,'' de Triquet said.
Mayor William E. Ward, who arrived later, said he knew nothing about the machines either.
Vice Mayor Arthur L. Dwyer was not at the session and did not respond to repeated telephone calls for comment.
Ward, Newman and Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff did not order the fax machines, saying they already had them at home or at work.
The six council members who are getting the fax machines are: Allen, Butt, Nance, de Triquet, Dwyer and Peter P. Duda Jr.
Personal fax machines typically cost from $300 to $1,900.
For less than what Chesapeake is spending for fax machines, Hampton has begun providing its council members with personal computers that have fax capabilities.
Hampton Councilman Charles A. Wornom said the computers cost roughly $1,200 each when the city purchased them six months ago.
``The main advantage to computers,'' Wornom said, ``is you can access all the city records; the city manager posts his daily schedule so you know what he's doing, and you can get the research if someone calls you asking about a problem.''
Portsmouth Councilman Cameron C. Pitts, who sold his colleagues on the idea of getting $300 machines last year, said his bare-bones model seemed to perform the basic tasks as well as any other.
``With technology,'' Pitts said, ``it seems as soon as you walk out the door with these things, they're obsolete. So why would you want to spend $1,400 on something that's going to be obsolete when you could put $300 in it?''
The majority of Virginia Beach council members also have fax machines. ``I don't think it's one of the upscales or anything,'' Councilman Robert K. Dean said.
The model ordered by the Chesapeake Council, a MITA LDC650, is a plain-paper fax machine, complete with digital laser-printer and photocopier capability.
It also features several other functions:
A ``quickscan'' that memorizes each page of a document in four to six seconds to be sent later.
A speed-dial that holds up to 128 numbers.
A memory that records up to 15 pages of incoming faxes if the machine runs out of paper.
Chesapeake Councilman Butt said the city consulted with other cities before proceeding with the purchase. The machines were ordered through a state equipment contract.
They will eliminate the need for police officers to deliver council dockets and emergency communications from the city attorney or city manager, Butt said.
``It's much more dependable and much quicker,'' said Newman, who thinks the faxes will make council members more accountable by ensuring they all get the same information.
``It's a positive move to get the information out to each other,'' Newman said. ``Nobody likes surprises at the last minute. We should do things openly and above-board and make sure things happen that way.''
Chesapeake council members huddled around the whirring machine Thursday evening.
``Modern technology,'' de Triquet said, shaking his head. ``I don't even know how to use my own VCR.''
Council members seemed baffled by the numerous functions.
``So, if I want to send something to John or someone,'' Nance asked, ``it goes through once, and then what do I do?''
That's it, the demonstrator answered.
``Amazing,'' Allen said.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL by CNB