Minutes - Council Work Session - 09/21/2004

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docmnent delivery service. Hundreds of documents are available to web-users via the service, including Council and Commission agendas, minutes, and employment applications. Shortly after establishing the website with GovDocs, the City initiated its record management program by purchasing a software system called Laser Fiche. Staff has been making significant progress in scanning City documents for archival. Documents are text searchable within Laser Fiche, which is a tremendous resource when performing research. Earlier this year, the City's application to make its official method of document retention electronic vs. paper storage was approved, allowing documents that have been scanned to be disposed of, reducing the amount of paper storage required at City Hall. Assistant City Administrator Nelson explained as the City has progressed in the use of technology and its delivery of that technology to residents and other web-users, their desire to have more control over the structure and maintenance of the website has become greater. The benefits of managing the website in-house include the opportunities for the City to implement e- government initiatives for building permits, utility billing, GIS capabilities including interactive maps, and future park and recreation registrations. In addition, with the wealth of information contained in the Laser Fiche system, they have researched the opportunities to make that available to web-users via the website. The GovDocs and Laser Fiche systems have become duplicative in purpose, therefore, staff is proposing to purchase the 'web-link' add-on of Laser Fiche which will enable the 550,000+ documents within the system to be available on-line in a text searchable format and abandon the GovDocs system. She explained one additional issue with the GovDocs system is the document format the system utilizes is PDF. PDF files are basically a graphic of the document that allows the document to be viewed and printed, but not altered. PDF files tend to function great for small documents, but as the number of pages increases thc file size increase, thereby making downloading time-consuming or impossible depending on the type of internet service. Laser Fiche utilizes a TIF file format and basically opens one page of a document at a time, allowing quick access to lengthy or graphic documents. Providing on-line access to the 'Web Link' add-on of Laser Fiche would allow staff to make lengthy and graphic documents quickly available to web-users. Rich Crabtrce and Mike West of Crabtree Companies provided a brief presentation on the Laser Fiche Web-Link system. Assistant City Administrator Nelson indicated staff has researched the opportunities to replicate the document delivery/notification service of GovDocs, if Council feels that is a service the City should continue to provide. Staff has reviewed the subscriber lists from GovDocs; the number of subscribers to the various categories and documents varies, however, the largest number of subscribers arc in the 'Employment' category. There are several cost-effective on-line services for providing the notification service at a cost much less than GovDocs, ranging from $50 to $150 per month. In 2005 the cost of GovDocs will increase to $915 per month. It should be noted that the on-line notification services do not include the document management service, hence the lesser cost. The document management system would be provided within the Laser Fiche system. She indicated staff is looking for a feeling from the Council about this. Staff feels that Web-Link is a greater value than GovDoc. City Council Work Session/September 21, 2004 Page 3 of 4