East Bethel weighs options to digitize decades of paper property files

City staff told the East Bethel City Council that the Community Development Department holds a large backlog of paper property files that staff want digitized so records can be searched by property address and preserved from loss.

A staff speaker said files include large-format plans and smaller “green cards” from certified mailings that must be captured, making bulk scanning more complicated than a simple one-size-fits-all scan. The city previously purchased software licenses for Laserfiche, but staff said only two concurrent licenses are in use now, limiting access for other staff and increasing response time for public record requests.

The staff presentation described three options: hire a scanning vendor that can bulk-scan all formats; rent fast scanners and hire or recruit temporary help (including high‑school students) to scan in-house; or organize a community volunteer campaign similar to past county tagging projects. "We have files dating back to the beginning of time," a staff speaker said, arguing that digitization would preserve historical documents and make records available to realtors and residents without staff mediation.

Staff noted risk from physical loss: a fire in records storage could destroy historical files even if stored in a vault. The city will evaluate cost, complexity (multiple sizes and formats), redaction needs for public records and integration with any new permitting system discussed elsewhere in the meeting.

Council direction: staff were asked to gather cost estimates for vendor scanning and for in‑house or hybrid approaches and to return to a future work session with options and cost comparisons.

Why it matters: digitizing property files would speed responses to data requests, enable public online access to some permit records, and preserve historical materials at risk from physical damage.