Editor,

I have pondered this for some time now: Why isn’t Island County in the computer age? What is he talking about, you ask?

Each hourly county employee must fill out a paper hourly report to be paid. Each county employee receives a paper check for their wages. Imagine the handling expense of 22 county departments’ paper forms and paper checks.

When I worked at The Boeing Co. some years ago, a paper form was given the value of $50 for the human handling of it from the beginning to fruition. I don’t have figures for all the county workers who submit paper forms and receive paper checks monthly, but imagine the total savings to the tax payer if this was done via computer.

It’s not that the county employees are ignorant of computers. They use them every day. The problem is in implementing the process of digital timekeeping and digital payment to a bank account. Is this concept too radical to grasp?  I experienced this happen while I was in the Navy and then at Boeing. I believe it is doable for our county.

Rick Shabo

Camano Island