RECORDS ONLINE
County to offer easy access to public information
Say you want to look up information on your home, your taxes or a property you are interested in buying.
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For years doing that research meant making a call to the Crow Wing County Historic Courthouse or getting there in person during working hours. In the near future, people are expected to be able to access more public information while in their slippers and without ever leaving the comfort of their homes.
It's all about technology.
The Crow Wing County Board recently approved the plan to make more public information available online.
Kathy Ludenia, Crow Wing County recorder, looked through a book of land records in her office. Ludenia recently opened a public research room near her office in the historic courthouse on Laurel Street in Brainerd. Staff members in the research room are there to assist the public with land record research. The county is moving toward putting more public information online with tax information expected in the near future. Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Crow Wing County Auditor Deborah Erickson said the county is fine-tuning the details now. A first step - providing tax information - should be available online soon. When it is the public will be able to search tax records online by using a property's parcel number or address. The search generated will provide basic information such as the property's classification, valuation and tax. A legal description of the property is included. Since people may now pay taxes online, they can use the new search to look up the exact amount due along with any assessments even if they've mislaid their tax statement.
The information was always available but it meant making that call or trip to the county offices. In the near future, the public will have access to the information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The benefit, Erickson said, comes in putting public information at people's fingertips.
"People are expecting more services available online," Erickson said. Cass County already provides it along with other counties in the state. "We see it as just being a better level of public service. This is the first step to us going in that direction."
Fine-tuning efforts will make sure the county has the security protection it needs and provides tracking to see if people are actually using the feature. Erickson said the tax information is user-friendly and simple to use.
After these first steps additional information is expected to be added providing online access about a property's classification and zoning. People should be able to look up their property and easily see what voting district they are in and where their polling place is.
Benefits to creating greater access to public information may be seen in departmental budgets. Kathy Ludenia, county recorder, said her department has been able to hold the line on staffing as information is available online.
A subscriber group of high volume users pays $50 a month for online access to public information on property records. The recorder's office has about 30 clients such as banks, attorneys and title companies. The information they seek is used in estate planning and title searches looking for a property's ownership history.
Ludenia said having the information available online helps free up staff time to record data because they don't have to answer as many phone calls or assist as many customers at the counter. In addition to the monthly fee, those client subscribers continue to pay for copies of records.
For years getting public information from Crow Wing County offices meant making a phone call or a trip there during working hours. Now plans are in the works to provide more public information online so people can access it any hour of the day or night right from their own computers. Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson » Purchase reprints of this photo.
"It's much more accessible," Ludenia said. "These records have always been public information. It's just a little more open way to provide access to the public."
To that end, Ludenia opened a public research room this summer to help make the process easier as well. The room, across from the recorder's office in the historic courthouse, has two staff members to assist the public with research, which includes genealogy hunts and tracking a property's history. There is no charge unless an individual wants photocopies. Records from 1989 forward are on microfilm or available as a digital image accessible by computer.
There are 2,114 plats scanned in Crow Wing County. Most Crow Wing County plat maps are available on the county's Web site - www.co.crow-wing.mn.us - via the surveyor's link.
Ludenia said the reception to the research room has been positive.
"It seems there are more and more people in there using the facilities," she said.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.