"The state of Washington is a national leader in supporting electronic recording of documents, and King County is at the forefront in Washington," said Matt Walker, Hart InterCivic Vice President for eGovernment Solutions. "Anthem was designed to help counties take advantage of developments like electronic recording, Internet access, and e-commerce that are increasingly being demanded by the public." King County, which has its county seat in Seattle, is the most populous county in Washington and 13th most populous in the nation. The county has used Hart InterCivic's records management system since 1999 and transitioned to Hart Anthem in November 2003. Between 2,000 and 4,500 documents are recorded each day in the King County Recorder's office, which has 20 employees dedicated to the recording process.
Hart Anthem is a comprehensive, modular system that captures a document from initial imaging and recording through indexing, verification, archiving, and search and retrieval. Anthem employs a powerful Microsoft SQL-based relational database, proven imaging system, and sophisticated suite of business-driven applications to provide unparalleled productivity, security, and accessibility for County and public users.
"This enhancement represents a significant technological step forward for King County because it increases the efficiency, security, and availability of public records," said Ron Sims, King County Executive. "It is definitely an example of putting technology to work for the people of King County."
Anthem completes the third step in a four-step process to upgrade the county's records management system, according to Walter E. Washington, Superintendent of Records for King County. The process began with the addition of the Hart system and continued with the integration of vital records and Internet access into Anthem.
"Phase 4 is eRecording, which is my priority because it can greatly increase our productivity and efficiency," said Washington. "We expect it to cut our data entry workload by 30 to 40 percent and greatly decrease our backlog."
King County often has a backlog of six weeks or longer for documents received by mail, which Washington said will be significantly reduced as more documents are submitted electronically rather than on paper.
eRecording refers to the electronic recording of land titles and other documents by title companies, mortgage companies, government agencies, and other entities. The documents can be filed from any location with Internet access, using forms approved by the county. The county then receives the documents, endorses and files them, allowing documents to be recorded in a matter of minutes or hours rather than days or weeks.
However, not all filers submit documents in the same format. To resolve this dilemma, Hart developed the Universal eRecording Counter(tm), a component of Anthem, as an open system that allows counties to accept all electronic documents that meet standards established by the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA).
"Our largest title company stands to save about $50,000 per month by filing from their office and knowing that documents will be processed faster," noted Washington. "That's a significant advantage."
In addition to laying the groundwork for eRecording, Anthem has expanded King County's online functionality by allowing users to move quickly and easily between the Recorder's office and other county departments.
Quelle: Business Wire, 12.01.2004
