Built-in Automation From A Record Management Leader

 

Every family in every city relies on critical municipal services. These services keep citizens safe, keep neighborhoods clean, keep places livable and build communities, not just cities. With initiatives this important, why not empower city employees with the very best tools? So much of the information that is managed within a city hall is paper-based. From permits to council minutes, from checks to water bills, it’s usually all paper. By providing employees with efficient tools and access to information we all benefit.

 

Most information that is created or used within a city has implications in more than one department. This creates a bottleneck for information flow in many cases, or it duplicates it. Information important to one department is stored in one way, while it’s stored in another in the department next door. Why not store it once and let everyone have access?

 

Enter Laserfiche government electronic document management! Building applications can be data entered by citizens online through an electronic form. Fees are automatically calculated and captured through payment processing. Copies of the application are captured in digital format and approved with a digital signature. The permitting database is automatically updated, permits are linked to a centralized property file and accessible through GIS.

 

That same building permit is placed on the city’s paperless planning commission agenda which is emailed out to commission and council members. Because this permit has a fiscal impact on the city for new road construction a notification is also sent to public works, engineering and the finance department. All employees have immediate access to the information they need to put municipal muscle into action.

 

Most council members understand the need and want for transparency between the city hall and citizens. That’s why Laserfiche has Weblink, the public portal for self-serve document access. City council minutes, agendas and packets along with all other public information is fully text searchable even back to the date of city incorporation.

 

Not all records at a city are important or should be kept forever. An established Laserfiche government electronic records management plan is made easier through the use of Laserfiche’s DoD 5015.2-certified Records Management Edition (RME). RME allows records managers to assign record series retention values for consistent disposition and destruction of records no longer having retention value. In addition, the system allows for freeze functionality in the event of a lawsuit. But more importantly, once a document is destroyed it cannot be recovered. This is part of a process to eliminate recovery and eliminate liability. Records Management can even be automated into something called Transparent Records Management wherein documents find their appropriate retention period and auto-file themselves. Contact CDI to learn more about Laserfiche integrations for government.