Legislators' free gadgets cheat taxpayers

By Lois M. Collins
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2005 11:13 p.m. MST
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A decade or so ago, we were offered a "free" copy machine; we'd just be responsible for carrying the maintenance and repair contract.

The ink was barely dry on the agreement when the copy machine service guy moved in, an almost-roommate who everyone got to know by name. We knew his phone number by heart, too. The machine was always being "maintained."

I don't know what the bottom-line total was, but I always suspected it would have been cheaper to buy a few dozen copy machines so that when one broke we could just toss it and get another out of shrink wrap.

That's why breakfast came with a chuckle Wednesday as I reviewed the radio and newspaper stories about the Legislature's newest productivity tool.

Each of our legislators will be issued a BlackBerry, one of the super-charged cell phones that let you get e-mails, surf the Internet, play games, plot your day and more, using Bluetooth wireless technology so you're connected and cool at the same time.

The units themselves are being donated by the cell phone service provider and aren't going to cost anyone a dime, we're assured, which is why I was having this laughing-fit flashback to the copy machine.

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The cost to taxpayers is only going to be about $102 a month per lawmaker and some legislative staffers for the airtime, steeply discounted over what they'd pay individually, legislators were told. Since retail on the phones is around $200 if you shop very prudently and a whole lot more if you don't, it means that every two months the service cost could equal or exceed the value of the donation.

That cost doesn't include training in how to use the handy little devices, either.

Nope. Lawmakers plan to hire someone to work full-time, estimated salary in excess of $50,000 a year, to teach them how to use the devices and maintain them. Apparently they don't already have IT guys who can tackle that job, and it's not part of the package from the cell phone service provider that's donating the BlackBerrys. That new hire reminds me of our copy machine repairman. Seems nothing's really free.

That company, Cingular, assures reporters that it's a business decision to donate the units, not a political one. They don't expect any special favors. I believe them absolutely, given the relative cost of providing the BlackBerrys (bet they get them well below cost) versus the money they'll be making from the state, every single month, for the airtime, even with the steep discount they've provided.

Until, that is, something new comes along without which legislators just won't be able to be productive.

This might be a good place to say that I think BlackBerrys rock. The technology is great, and I wish I had one. That little, super portable device is a dynamo.

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