Cincinatti scaling back plans to buy Kindles for elected officials

Cincinatti.com is reporting on a slightly scaled back plan to outfit city council members with a Kindle DX and electronic copies of documents. In a slightly strange paragraph:

Among the budget cuts voted for by five members of council after contentious budget talks was $22,662 in annual savings found by canceling hundreds of copies of council documents. Buying the Kindle DXs for document reading would have cost $7,200 instead. Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who already has a Kindle, pitched the idea as a saver of money and copying time.

It would seem to me that cutting a $7,200 expenditure that would save $22,662 in printing costs is actually a budget expansion, not reduction, or at least a wash in that you aren't changing from last year's budget.

The plan is not dead, however, but optional:

If those who oppose the Kindles still want to print out their agendas and ordinances, they'll have to pay the city clerk's office for every page after January. How much each page will cost should be determined this week.

Council member Chris Bortz had this to say:

"If I need to put a couple hundred dollars into printing, I can do it," Bortz said, referring to moving some office budget money from other supplies, not meaning he would buy copies with his personal money. "I've got room in my budget."

A strange comment. If I were an elected official, I'd come up with a better excuse, since now you're potentially angering constituents who consider themselves green (stop wasting paper) or fiscally conservative (stop wasting money).