If you’ve ever wondered how much the city of Bangor spent to maintain cemeteries in 1955 or how many times a city council member abstained from a vote in 2004, you’re in luck.
In an effort to enhance government transparency and cut down on paper costs, Bangor has digitized many of its records in a searchable database, which means the public can easily scour thousands of documents from the comfort of their own computer screens.
Culminating a process that began in 2015, the Laserfiche Document Management System launched for public use last week. It allows users to type in keywords to search and print all City Council, city board or committee documents that date back to 2000 as well as financial audits dating back to the early 1950s.
The digital records system will eventually pool city government documents in one space, across all departments, minimizing inefficiencies for city employees and cutting down on paper and storage costs, Debbie Cyr, director of finance, said.
“In essence, we have to step back and create a systematic central filing scheme that’s going to be used by everybody,” Cyr said Monday.
The project is spearheaded by Public Information Coordinator Meghan Collins, who said that one of its long-term goals is to make certain services available online, such as filing for a building permit.
“It’s very important to allow people to do this from home,” Collins said.
The city spent about $135,000 to digitize the first round of records, funds that came from the sale of the former police station on Court Street, Cyr said. The next phase will make property records searchable, she said.
This story appears through a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.