More local governments moving to scanned documents
As document scanning and management becomes easier and more broadly available, a large and growing number of government agencies at all levels rely on it. This brings them several of benefits, not least of which is that they spend less taxpayer money on both materials and employee hours.
For instance, the city of Hudson, Ohio, recently switched its zoning application and approval processes to paperless systems that allow individuals and businesses to scan and upload any details they think the city may need in making a decision, according to the Hudson Hub Times. The city's planning office receives about 800 such applications each year, and before the new paperless process, documents often changed hands regularly, creating potential hiccups that could have delayed approval.
And for applicants who don't have scanners of their own, the system supports document photos taken with smartphones.
"For residents and developers, online applications and electronic plan review not only will save trips to City Hall, but also will improve communications among the various departments and boards involved in the review process," associate planner Kris McMaster told the newspaper. "And it will cut down on the amount of paper we shuffle back and forth and then must store."
Meanwhile, in Branson, Missouri, recent changes to make the city's Finance Department billing processes paperless are already saving thousands of dollars per year, according to the Branson Tri-Lakes News. The department now prints nearly 6,700 fewer pages and saves 460 ink cartridges. As a consequence, residents now receive about six fewer pounds of paper in the mail annually. In addition, the city's police department now has e-ticketing powers, meaning it prints and goes through far fewer paper tickets over the course of a year.
The ability of any municipal or state agencies to digitize documents and manage them on secure cloud-based systems may go a long way toward cutting costs and increasing efficiency on an ongoing basis, especially when they can incorporate remote capture to the outer reaches of their organizations. In addition to those benefits, relying on automated workflows can help ensure everyone who needs to see a given document can do so in as timely a fashion as possible.
