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Approximately eight years ago, the city's Community Development Department
invested in a document imaging system that the City Clerk's Department also used
to scan and archive records. Using their office scanner, City Clerk
employees could save paper records as images in a databae, but they could not
retrieve the electronic files easily because the database was not connected to
the city's computer network.
Over time, hundreds of thousands of documents were stored on the system,
which eventually was discontinued by the vendor. The Community Development
Department moved to a different system by the same vendor about four years ago,
but the City Clerk did not have the budget to convert its records for the new
system. As a result, the clerk's records became inaccessible.
Last year, city Clerk Verna Rollinger began searching for a replacement
system that would ensure that all records could be accessed easily.
Rollinger also wanted electronic documents so back-ups could be stored off site
to protect them from floods, fires and landslides that threaten the city
occasionally.
In March 2003, Laguna Beach contracted with Newport Beach, Calif.-based
Berghell Associates to convert the clerk's existing digital files to a standard
image format (TIFF Group 4) that could be used by any imaging system the city
chose. Following the conversion, the city installed Trapeze™ document
imaging software and a database by Wellingon, New Zealand-based Onstream
Systems. Additionally, the city purchased a high-speed scan station for
the City Clerk's Department and a high-capacity server running Windows 2000 and
SQL Server 2000. The cost of the new system, including the software and
records conversion, was approximately $45,000.
Using the new system, clerks scan paper records and index them in the
database by type, title, date, originating department and other
information. Every city department has at least one license to the
database, so employees can retrieve records without visiting the City Clerk's
office for the paper records. "Some departments require frequent
access to City Clerk records, and others less so," Rollinger explains,
"but the time savings are remarkable. People no longer walk from
other departments to our offices to request documents - and we no longer have to
walk to our paper vault to search boxes for the relevant papers, copy them and
then return them."
This year, the City Clerk's Department will scan and import more than 2
million records into the system and plans to have all of its documents in the
database by the end of the year. Once all records are in the database and
the city has a secure backup plan, the clerk will discard most original paper
files and use the digital images as original documents. As a result,
Rollinger expects the city will need half the space it currently uses to store
paper records in the clerk's office.
By December, records should be available online, residents will not need to
drive to City Hall to obtain documents, and all employees will be able to
retrieve records from their computers. The Community Development
Department has converted to the new document imaging system, and, as budgets
allow, several other departments will install the software so they can add
documents to the database.
© 2004, PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc.
For further information:
Janice Roth
Marketing Manager
Ph: +64 4 473-1711
Fax: +64 4 473-1712
Mob: +64 21 1010 387
Web: www.onstreamsystems.com
9 Mairangi Road, PO Box 3536, Wellington, NZ
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