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What I
have been reading in our papers is ridiculous. Thousands of dollars to get copies of public records?? As with
O&C funding, I believe that this is a gross case of negligence that this issue is not solved yet. I have been to
the Court offices needing to get copies of paper work, and last time I needed copies of Court records, they cost 25 cents
for a copy, and a dollar for a certified copy, which is a reasonable rate. While I do not remember the copy rates were
the last time I was in the County Clerk's office, or the County Assessor's office, I know that the cost to get a copy of what
I needed was not enough to make me think twice. So why is it that the file system in the commissioners' office takes
so many employee hours to find the requested documents and make copies.
With the advancements that have been made in computer technology, it
is well past time to have all documents stored digitally (as well as original hardcopies for as long as required by law).
If elected, I would push for the commissioners to assign that task to the County's I.T. department. The end result I would
want is to have all public documents generated by the Commissioners' office stored in a digital database that could be searched
and retrieved by the general public. I would also propose a computer set up at the County office that would be open
for the general public to search for, and print documents they wanted to have. I would not vote for any fee on this
service that was significantly greater than the cost of the paper and ink used to make the copy. I would also push to
have this database connected to the County's website, and a free service to someone using it from their own home.
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