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County directs staff to pursue on-site records digitization; quotes vendor ranges $34K–$160K
Summary
Community Development recommended digitizing county records to protect documents from disaster and improve staff/public access; quotes ranged from a low off-site $34K service to an on-site contractor at about $57K and staff‑time cost estimates up to ~$160K. Commissioners asked staff and counsel to return with a contract recommendation.
Community Development Director Derek Payne presented options Sept. 10 for scanning and indexing county records as part of a digital resiliency project, saying commercial quotes ranged from roughly $34,000 (off-site scanning) to $57,000 (contractor on site) up to $116,000–$130,000 for higher‑service offers and an in‑house staff estimate of $120,000–$160,000 (staff time) depending on approach.
Derek told the board staff prefer an on‑site contractor so the county does not lose access to files during scanning and to avoid recurring per‑file retrieval charges that off‑site vendors would levy for priority pulls. Commissioners expressed strong support for moving ahead; several urged staff to get a contract in final form and return quickly with funding recommendations so the work can begin. Staff said they will work with county counsel and aim to return with a recommended vendor and contract within about two weeks.
Proponents said searchable, indexed records would reduce future staff time spent reconstituting files after an emergency, allow public and staff access via a searchable portal and enable linking documents to parcel records in GIS. The board directed staff to proceed with vendor negotiations and to identify appropriate funding sources for the work.
