Modernizing and safeguarding the property records of San Luis Obispo was the goal of Assessor Tom Bordonaro in advancing the Assessor Records Transformation Project (ART). Now, a huge step forward has resulted from the successful completion of the digital conversion of millions of individual pieces of paper. Detailed property information, maps and technical data are now available electronically making it much easier for the public to obtain information and saving staff time searching through stacks of paper files, with many containing handwritten notes and weathered maps.
This is quite an undertaking when you consider that more than 2.75 million pieces of paper were removed from the old paper files after being examined to determine if they were needed for the future. Once reviewed, the remaining 2.8 million sheets of paper were scanned to create a state of the art and highly secure digital parcel library called Open Text.
Improving public service by making essential property records more easily accessible is a high ideal that has been accomplished by Assessor Bordonaro and his team. The benefits to County residents are these:
Transformation of property records to a high tech digital format requires a vision for the future, a commitment of time and outstanding teamwork to move the project from an idea to reality. When the ART project was launched in 2017, the Assessor established an ambitious goal of purging unneeded data from more than 168,000 individual property files and converting the remaining essential data to the most modern and secure digital format available. Now, with the highly successful project completed ahead of schedule and below budget, the idea of streamlining government paperwork has been transformed to reality at the Office of the San Luis Obispo County Assessor.
The immense task of manually sorting paper files to remove unimportant bits of information and then creating a digital image of the essential pages while usual work of the office continued. The Assessor’s essential role in discovering, inventorying and valuing all real and personal property was carried out without a hitch. The annual property tax roll was completed with efficiency and accuracy, even as the staff worked diligently on the task of reviewing every paper file and each piece of paper to determine if it needed as part of the permanent digital property record for each piece of property.
Improving service for the public by making the essential property documents easily accessible was the top priority of the Assessor’s digital modernization project. With Open Text the public, assessor staff and other governments that require property data, can easily access information with the click of a mouse, rather than digging through a mountain of files to find a piece of paper lodged somewhere in a manila folder.
Another key reason for urgently moving to a digital records system, was the practical and serious consideration of safety regarding the weight of the paper archive. When the Assessor made the move to the third floor of new county administration building, the weight of 38 tons on the structure was a source of serious concern in the event of an earthquake or even severe winds. The structural integrity of the county facility was in doubt with the tremendous weight of the paper files. With the successful completion of ART those concerns are eliminated and even the heavy storage cabinets have been removed.
Creating a more efficient and responsive county government provides a great benefit to the people we serve. A big advancement forward in meeting these goals results from the Assessor Records Transformation which is now reality in San Luis Obispo County.
This is quite an undertaking when you consider that more than 2.75 million pieces of paper were removed from the old paper files after being examined to determine if they were needed for the future. Once reviewed, the remaining 2.8 million sheets of paper were scanned to create a state of the art and highly secure digital parcel library called Open Text.
Improving public service by making essential property records more easily accessible is a high ideal that has been accomplished by Assessor Bordonaro and his team. The benefits to County residents are these:
- Reduced Costs – Producing, distributing and sorting paper files requires substantial staff time and cost. Digitally scanning documents saves money by automatically handling information intake. By accurately scanning and capturing relevant information, staff no longer spend countless hours searching, sorting and printing files that can be accessed at the click of a mouse;
- Increased Efficiency – A congested room of file cabinets, paper stacks and unlabeled documents is inefficient and can delay service for the public. Not only does this chaos undermine efficiency, it reflects poorly on public turnaround if the office is unable to quickly locate vital documents. Digitizing documents is a safe route to store records in an organized and efficient manner;
- Easier Accessibility – Scanning and document automation services provide county wide accessibility, allowing other county departments, local governments and the general public to retrieve files through a compatible program. High security measures and greater transparency for documents that are widely utilized by multiple sources is a tremendous benefit achieved through the ART project. The next step in modernization is remote capability where property appraisers can utilize laptops or tablets to make all property record changes or even creation of maps in the field.
Transformation of property records to a high tech digital format requires a vision for the future, a commitment of time and outstanding teamwork to move the project from an idea to reality. When the ART project was launched in 2017, the Assessor established an ambitious goal of purging unneeded data from more than 168,000 individual property files and converting the remaining essential data to the most modern and secure digital format available. Now, with the highly successful project completed ahead of schedule and below budget, the idea of streamlining government paperwork has been transformed to reality at the Office of the San Luis Obispo County Assessor.
The immense task of manually sorting paper files to remove unimportant bits of information and then creating a digital image of the essential pages while usual work of the office continued. The Assessor’s essential role in discovering, inventorying and valuing all real and personal property was carried out without a hitch. The annual property tax roll was completed with efficiency and accuracy, even as the staff worked diligently on the task of reviewing every paper file and each piece of paper to determine if it needed as part of the permanent digital property record for each piece of property.
Improving service for the public by making the essential property documents easily accessible was the top priority of the Assessor’s digital modernization project. With Open Text the public, assessor staff and other governments that require property data, can easily access information with the click of a mouse, rather than digging through a mountain of files to find a piece of paper lodged somewhere in a manila folder.
Another key reason for urgently moving to a digital records system, was the practical and serious consideration of safety regarding the weight of the paper archive. When the Assessor made the move to the third floor of new county administration building, the weight of 38 tons on the structure was a source of serious concern in the event of an earthquake or even severe winds. The structural integrity of the county facility was in doubt with the tremendous weight of the paper files. With the successful completion of ART those concerns are eliminated and even the heavy storage cabinets have been removed.
Creating a more efficient and responsive county government provides a great benefit to the people we serve. A big advancement forward in meeting these goals results from the Assessor Records Transformation which is now reality in San Luis Obispo County.