The Pulaski County Council last night denied a request from the county commissioners to purchase four 64GB iPads, activation, and insurance at a cost of approximately $5000 for the devices and one year of coverage.
The council discussed whether the commissioners had a sound plan or if they were “putting the cart before the horse,” after a council member presented a quote from AT&T that was right around the same price but provided two years of coverage. On top of that, the information from AT&T indicated that the company would provide training – something that the commissioners’ proposal from Venture Wireless did not provide.
Sheriff Michael Gayer told the council that Venture Wireless is an independently-owned Verizon seller, and recommended trying to get a better deal through the county’s government account with Verizon. The council agreed that iPads could prove useful for officials, but did not feel the price was right nor was enough time spent on planning.
The iPads quoted by AT&T were said to be a less-extensive version, and the council noted that the roughly $900 per iPad that had been quoted by Venture was a bit much and provided features – such as the capability to create and edit video – that the commissioners would not need.
Consequently, the council approved a motion to deny the request for iPads.
