HomeMy WebLinkAbout991104.tiff SEARS & ASSOCIATES l' ' l D CCU: TY
INC.
REAL ESTATE
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CLEEK
March 3, 1999 TO 'I
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Weld County Board of Commissioners
Centennial Center
915 10th Street
Greeley, CO 80631
Dear Weld County Commissioners,
I am writing regarding proposed Ordinance No. 84-U which proposes to raise
and/or establish fees charged for Assessor/Treasurer maps and specialized
Assessor reports.
I oppose the adoption of this ordinance. The information is public and has
already been paid for by the citizens of Weld County. I believe the current fee of
$5.00 per map is adequate to cover the cost of reproducing the maps, yet
maintaining a reasonable cost of attainment for the users of that information. A
doubling of that amount is unconscionable and creates a financial burden on
users.
Likewise, the proposed fee for specialized reports is unacceptable. Many citizens
seek information only occasionally and need the assistance of the office staff to
locate what they are seeking. Most routine users utilize the public computer
terminals already provided. As an example, citizens who are seeking land use
changes or certain permits are directed to the Assessor's office to obtain a list of
surrounding property owners. The entire process can be rather daunting to the
inexperienced and an exorbitant fee on top of a detailed application process
merely adds to the frustration. The proposed minimum fee of $50 appears to be
an intentional effort to deter and discourage those seeking information rather
than a reasonable, actual cost recovery measure. The current fee of 25 cents
per page is reasonable, and the Assessor's staff is good about training regular
users to use the computer terminals to conduct their own searches. A tax paying
citizen should not have to pay fees of the kind proposed in order to obtain
information which is already public.
The rapid advent of information technology will have a great impact on this issue
in the very near future. It is my opinion that Weld County is far behind the curve
and other counties of this size with regard to appropriate use of technology for
the dissemination of public information. All county tax roll info, parcel info,
permits, policies and procedures, deed transfers, public notices, proposed rule
303/857-2930 - 303/629-0432 - 970/785-2291
140 DENVER AVENUE-- FORT LUPTON,COLORADO 80621 991104
changes, hearing schedules, and any other public information should be available
to anyone via the internet. This should be a free service. From a strictly
monetary standpoint, the county should be able to recoup its investment in the
technology through reduced staff loads for handling information requests and
through increased efficiencies. A reasonable security firewall should provide
public access to information but prevent any improper data access and block any
attempt to alter data. One great obstacle to a single, comprehensive county
data base is the fact that the current data bases for the Clerk and Recorder, the
Assessor, and the Treasurer are in different formats and are basically
incompatible. I believe that a county-wide, comprehensive data base is essential
and would reduce costs by eliminating duplication and the maintenance of
separate data bases.
Additionally, Weld County should aggressively continue the task of digital
imaging, geo-coding, and spatial mapping to incorporate all property data into a
Geographical Information System. I have asked county employees about the
status of GIS and the internet for the past 4 years. I realize that both projects
are on-going and that they are both massive undertakings. I have contacted the
county data processing folks to ascertain the status and progress of this task. I
have voiced concern to 3 different department heads that the county's GIS and
Internet efforts have failed to include input from the public and others who will
be the ultimate end-users of the data. This seems to be a top-down, take-what-
we-give-you approach that will almost certainly have to be refined after
implementation rather than being designed to be user-friendly in the first place.
With each of the departments I have contacted, I have volunteered to serve as a
citizen's representative and data end-user to provide input to the process. I
have received no response.
Please vote no on Ordinance No. 84-U and continue to expedite the
implementation of technological dissemination of information to the public.
Sincerely, 9
Kirk Goble
Broker
J.L. Sears & Associates, Inc.
CC: Weld County Assessor
Weld County Treasurer
Weld County Clerk & Recorder
Weld County Department of Planning Services
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