Salem Supervisor Evera Sue Clary said she appreciates the laptop provided by the county. She has been using her business laptop and doesn’t want to mix county business with her personal business.
“Our town computer is an antique, and it’s impossible to Zoom at the town office because of lack of internet,” Clary said. “So for me to do these county meetings I was doing them from home on a personal laptop that needed to be used as other things and not for county Zoom.”
Easton Supervisor Dan Shaw said he does not need a laptop. He prefers to attend the county meetings in person.
Hebron Supervisor Brian Campbell, the budget officer, said providing laptops to supervisors was brought up five or six years ago to cut down on the use of paper. The county could save a lot of money by not mailing information to supervisors, but instead providing it electronically, he said.
Supervisors need to change with the times, he said, adding that YouTube and Zoom aren’t going away. All public meetings may be required to be virtual, even when supervisors can meet in person.
“I don’t like spending the money any more than anybody else,” Campbell said, “but sometimes spending the money’s important and actually saves you money in the long run.”
County Administrator Chris DeBolt said the laptops could be used for more than just email.