Anaheim Plan Really Computes

It’s a technological fact that computers are only as smart as the people who program them. That being the case, the city of Anaheim seems a good bet to soon have one of the sharpest municipal computer systems around.

The city, in trying to implement its five-year plan to automate its operations wherever “appropriate,” wants employees not only compatible but comfortable with new technology. To help achieve that, Anaheim is encouraging city employees to purchase home computers by offering interest-free loans of up to $3,000 each from a special revolving city fund.

The idea is to familiarize employees with computer operations and make them feel more at ease using computers and word processors at work. It’s called becoming “computer literate,” which is becoming almost as necessary on the job as being able to read and write.

But Anaheim officials, who are the first in the state and only the second in the nation to lend employees city funds to purchase home computers, are hoping for even more out of the loan plan than having workers keep up with changing technology. The thinking is that employees who understand and like computers will also begin looking for more innovative ways to use them.

That’s a clever program. It should compute.