New copier could save town money

WEST PARIS — Town Manager John White told selectmen that if the town leases a new copier, it would save some money, especially in printing town reports. 

Basically, he said, the town's lease on its current copier is coming to an end – so he's been looking into a new color copier that would be faster and doubles as a fax machine. 

White said that it could even be used to print town reports, a big step up from the old machine. 

"If you take the amount of money we spend on town reports and the money we spend on a copier lease and add those together, that covers it," White told selectmen. 

A five-year lease of the copier would cost the town $306 per month, including 49,248 black and white copies and 3,060 color copies, White said. With the current copier, said White, the total estimated costs for 49,248 black and white and 3,060 color copies is $372.70 per month. 

This brings the total monthly savings to $66.70 per month, said White, and while it's not huge savings, it would allow the town to make more copies, including of its town report. 

White said printing off town reports – 650 copies multiplied by 35 pages per report – would cost approximately $22,750. 

The new copier will also allow the town to choose which faxes to print off, he said. 

"Instead of having faxes that print out junk ... all of the faxes will be received as emails, then we can print out the ones we want," White said. 

Selectmen made a motion to table the lease, as it has not yet decided whether it's the best option. 

In addition, selectmen wondered whether the town could save money by figuring out how many residents would prefer receiving the town report electronically, rather than having to mail them out to each residence. 

White said that residents are able to print off the report from the town website if they choose to. 

"If you get 50 percent of people who didn't want it printed they could look at it online ... it would cut the cost way down," said Chairman Randy Jones. 

According to White, approximately 100-150 reports are thrown away each year because they are sent to the wrong address. 

In other news, the board: 

• Approved a special town meeting warrant to see if the citizens will vote to appropriate $5,000 for improvements to be made to the grandstand and security equipment installation at the Mann Athletic Complex from the town's designated fund balance on August 9 at 6 p.m. at the town office. 

• Granted a liquor license to David M. Brown, owner of the All American Tavern, which will be taking over the location of The River Restaurant on Bethel Road. 

• Signed the 2012 Municipal Valuation Return.