Case Studies

Winnebago County - Treasurer and Recorder

County Profile
 
Established in 1851, Winnebago County is located in north central Iowa, and the county seat is Forest City. According to Census Bureau records from 2000, the population is 11,723 and a total area of 402 square miles. Kris Colby served as the County Recorder during the selection and implementation of the Imagetek solution and Julie Swenson served as the County Treasurer.
Business Situation
 
Winnebago County chose Imagetek to help them electronically store their Land Records in the Recorders department and Auto Titles in the Treasurer’s department. The decision to use Imagetek was influenced by the company’s experience serving more than half of Iowa’s 99 counties as well as dozens of additional counties nationwide. A direct recommendation from Franklin County, Iowa, a satisfied Imagetek client, helped to mark Imagetek as the clear choice for document management vendor. Both the Recorder and the Treasurer are now scanning day forward records into PaperClip, one of Imagetek’s document management solutions. The Recorder’s department was originally using a different vendor’s system and Imagetek helped convert those images into PaperClip. The Treasurer had no previous experience with Content Management.

The Treasurer’s department was previously using a paper based system and a document management solution was needed. Paper takes longer to retrieve than digital records and takes up a great deal of space that could be better used by the department. Paper can also deteriorate and cannot be expected to last forever as is required of most County documents. The previous document management solution in the Recorder’s department was no longer supported by the vendor it was purchased from and was determined to be an inefficient solution for the department.
Technical Situation
 
In the case of the Recorder’s Office, the records and images residing in the existing document management system needed to be transferred from the old system into PaperClip. Imagetek came on-site to perform the conversion which was completed in one month, from the time the P.O. was generated to user activation and regular use.
 
Winnebago County did not have on-staff IT support, so Imagetek’s Technical Support team facilitated the server configuration and network setup for the inter-office imaging system. An existing server was used for the installation, but new network cabling was created for an additional work station, that, in addition to accessing the PaperClip software, runs the Jukebox optical storage system.
Solution
 
Instead of printing and manually filing documents, PaperClip enables users to keep documents in their native electronic format and file them in virtual filing cabinets that mimic a company's current filing systems.
 
Imagetek developed a utility to migrate records from the old document management system into the new Paperclip system. Kris Colby, the County Recorder, estimates that the transition and implementation process took approximately six weeks from start to up and running.
 
Additionally, Imagetek’s expertise in County government was invaluable in the design and implementation of PaperClip. PaperClip can be and is currently utilized by multiple departments within the County, providing a time and cost savings to the County and ultimately its citizens. Imagetek’s expertise in serving both Offices of the Treasurer and Recorder was instrumental in maximizing the efficiency of the system design.
 
Microfiche was previously used as part of Winnebago County’s retention program. In order to transition their records management to a digitally based system, Imagetek set up a system that allowed the administrative staff to transfer information directly from microfiche into the PaperClip system.
Benefits
 
After the Imagetek PaperClip solution was implemented, the Office of the Recorder had significantly more control and easier access to their documents than their previous document management solution had afforded them. “Backing-up files right here in our offices on the Jukebox is much easier and much more accessible,” said Kris Colby, County Recorder. “The PaperClip software is very easy to use and I have always found the Imagetek support team to be timely and helpful.”
Products and Services
 
County – All PaperClip Users:
PaperClip Workgroup Edition Server License
PaperClip NOSS 32 Optical Archiving software
Plasmon G-Series Jukebox - 24 slots, two 30 GB UDO drives (w/hardware service contract and installation)
 
 
Treasurer:
1 - B & H Sidekick 1200 Scanner (w/hardware service contract and installation)
6 - PaperClip User licenses
1 - Harvester Batch scanning license
10 - Pre Paid Support Hours
 
Recorder:
1 - RTDDS PC – CLRIS Communications System
*New scanner not required
5 - PaperClip User licenses
1 - Harvester Batch scanning license
1 - Barcorder barcode labeling software
1 - Image Conversion Utility
10 Pre Paid Support Hours
 
Engineer (started after initial installation of Treasurer and Recorder)
1 - B & H Sidekick 1200 Scanner (w/hardware service contract and installation)
3 - PaperClip User Licenses
10 - Pre Paid Support Hours

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