Shoreview is a distinctive and vibrant community located in Ramsey County, just 10 miles northwest of St. Paul. They are recognized for their abundant lakes, wetlands and open spaces. Their quality parks and trails system offers splendid recreational and leisure opportunities.

 

Municipal space planners have been known to leave the clerk’s office where it is rather than move it to a better location. They just don’t want to deal with moving all those paper files.

 

Instead of being one small part of a job, the need to transport paper files can often seem to be the job itself. That assessment applies to tasks ranging from major projects such as moving an entire department to a new location, to more routine jobs such as preparing and transporting files for courtroom appearances and out-of-town hearings.

 

In these days of tight municipal budgets and declining staff resources, finding better ways to deal with this issue is a necessity.

 

When first confronted with replacing the carpet on two floors in City Hall, Dick Crumb, I.S. Manager for the City of Shoreview, MN braced himself for a major moving project. They were confronted with moving all the paper files and a dozen overflowing filing cabinets off each floor, in addition to moving all the workers and furniture and dismantling 20 offices and cubicles on each floor, and then having to move it all back afterwards.

 

As Dick mulled over the conventional options for transporting paper files, Dick began to give serious consideration to a more radical solution. He ultimately pursued this option and it proved to be a classic case of turning a problem into an opportunity.

 

“We had recently purchased a Laserfiche document imaging system from Larry Phelps with Solbrekk. Chad Brinkman assisted us with the installation and implementation and we were getting started with scanning files,” Dick says. “I had been looking for a way to get our conversion to electronic filing into high gear very quickly. All that got me to thinking that we would be way ahead of the game if we could get as much paper on the two floors as possible into the system. Our document imaging system would be humming and we’d only have to move the paper once – out the door forever.”

 

Dick Crumb said “As an organization, we’ve built up a truly impressive database of electronic files. As a result, each department affected by the carpeting situation is now much more committed to, and familiar with, our electronic filing option. We have a more prepared staff that is primed for additional document scanning and indexing. Everyone prefers being able to find documents in seconds instead of wasting precious time looking for paper files – including our City Manager.”

 

“Before we had document imaging, we were afraid to throw a document away. The thinking was that Murphy’s Law would come into play and we would need that document the minute it was gone. The end result was we kept everything that came in the door and filed it away somewhere because we didn’t want to toss it. Of course finding it again if we ever did need it was another story.”

 

Dick went on to say, “Having a document imaging system gives you a sense of security because we’re no longer stuck with cabinets full of paper. We can always find the information if we need it – and find it quickly.”

 

“To me, saving staff time looking for documents is a bigger bonus than the space savings we have profited from. It doesn’t help to have the document filed away somewhere if you can’t find it when you need it – or if it takes hours to locate it. Our imaging system now allows us to look up council reports, budget information, purchase orders, invoices and meeting minutes in seconds – and we never have to leave our seats to do it.”