In accordance with the State Records Act of 1997, the council is required is required to retain all correspondence which elected members send. However, Whyalla Council members were using home PCs and personal e-mail accounts to receive and store e-mails, which is outside the provisions of the Act.

With the last upgrade of its computer network in 2000, Whyalla Council decided it was time for a new solution that not only addressed the mobility and storage needs of its elected members, but also the need for a network monitoring system that could track server upgrades and identify security vulnerabilities.

So the council opted for a new computer network that introduced laptops for councillors on-the-go, as well as server monitor applications that would assist Poyner to keep software upgrades and patches up to date.

"There are many councils throughout Australia which have implemented similar laptop solutions, but not many have coupled it with a network system that keeps tabs on the whole gamut of operations," Poyner said.

The council has acquired 96 HP desktops, 24 Toshiba laptops and five HP servers.