Andover and Sunderland are on opposite sides of the Commonwealth. Andover’s population hovers around 32,000; Sunderland’s population is about 4,000. Although very different in many ways, the Towns of Andover and Sunderland, Massachusetts have something in common: information and documents contained in boxes, filing cabinets and vaults can be accessed very quickly.
Both Andover and Sunderland, under the leadership of their Town Clerks, installed electronic document management software programs. Andover’s Town Clerk Randy Hanson and Sunderland’s Town Clerk Wendy Houle, working with their respective Managers, Selectmen, and department heads, have installed General Code’s award-winning Laserfiche Document Imaging software and are reaping the benefits every day.
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Randy Hanson, Bruce Cadman
and Wendy Houle |
Both Randy and Wendy are thrilled with the software because the time it takes to research and retrieve information has been greatly reduced. Randy remarks that “it has allowed easier access to requested records for the public.” And Wendy commented, "With Laserfiche you can get a more complete history on any one subject by using the searching tools in the software.”
In Andover several thousand pages of Town Meeting minutes, Selectmen’s minutes and Retirement Board minutes were initially scanned, imaged and indexed by General Code and included in the system. The Town now has a network installation that allows multiple departments simultaneous access to those documents, as well as thousands of others stored in the system. Randy said the software is now available in her office as well as in the Town Manager’s, the Planning Department, the Board of Appeals and the Retirement Board. The system currently houses minutes, Vital Records, correspondence, contracts and other documents. She envisions that the system will continue to grow as their needs change, and eventually many other document types, including plans and maps, will be made available with their Laserfiche software.
Elena Kothman in Andover’s Retirement Office says, “I LOVE the Laserfiche program. I can find information in record time.” Elena has included, in addition to the
Board’s minutes mentioned above, medical information and payroll records in the system. She is delighted to be able to retrieve data from her desktop rather than from hundreds of files in her filing cabinet!
Randy has worked with her department heads and General Code to make sure that everyone is using the system. According to Randy, recent additional training by General Code’s staff at the Andover Town Hall proved “highly beneficial” for the staff. She is thrilled that those using the system now have the ability to “scan, index, file, share and retrieve and print documents in the system.” Laserfiche allows them to put the documents into the system and print them right back out when needed. And they can do it all themselves.
In Sunderland, Wendy Houle’s vision was to provide protection for and access to her many records. With the endorsement of her Board of Selectmen and following a vote of the Annual Town Meeting, Wendy called on General Code to install a Laserfiche Executive system, a standalone version of the software designed for small communities. The Town Meeting minutes from 1714 were initially scanned, imaged and indexed by General Code. Since Laserfiche was installed in 2001, Wendy has single-handedly scanned the Annual Town Reports from 1845-present into the system as well as the Vital
Records and the meeting minutes of various boards and committees (Selectmen, Library, Planning, Zoning, Conservation, Historical, and Telecommunications). “I have also included some maps in the system as well as the decisions of the Zoning Board of Appeals. As a result of these efforts, Wendy has saved space because documents can now be stored in other places or off site, and ensured the safety and preservation of the original records for which there is now an electronic backup.
The Town of Sunderland was General Code’s first Massachusetts client to install Laserfiche. Wendy has stated that since the installation Sunderland’s “citizens are better served because research is easier. I can find information from multiple sources—cutting down on mistakes and saving a lot of time.” She mentions that in the future the system could grow to include a network environment as well as Web Access to the data by the citizens of the town.
The towns of Andover and Sunderland differ in many ways, but their basic need is the same: vital municipal information that is protected, accessible and easy to distribute to multiple users. General Code has been pleased work with these forward-thinking Clerks and officials to bring Laserfiche to each of these communities, not only meeting their needs, but giving each the ability to grow and expand their systems to their respective individual requirements.
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