Case Studies

Lake County, IL is a combination of progressive urban areas, as well as picturesque rural communities. Situated on the shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago and Wisconsin, it is home to over 700,000 residents with diverse backgrounds and lifestyles. The number of land record filings has increased significantly over the past few years.

CHALLENGE AND VISION
With the responsibility of recording approximately 200,000 land filings annually, the Lake County Recorder’s office sought a system that would allow them to process records efficiently and effectively. One of the goals was to improve customer service by being able to return the original documents to their owners in a timelier manner.

The Recorder’s office also had a vision to provide online access to records via a subscription to attorneys, real estate professionals, title companies and others who accessed the records regularly.

“Our contract with the previous vendor was up and we decided seek new bids for an improved system. Fortunately, Cott bid on our project,” explained Mary Ellen Vanderventer, Lake County Recorder.

“The team at Cott allowed us to meet with recorders in other counties that were already using their system, which was really helpful,” said Vanderventer.

SOLUTION
The county reviewed numerous vendors’ solutions and chose Cott’s RESOLUTION, a land records management system, designed specifically for County Clerks and Recorders to record land records.

“It was the people at Cott Systems that made the difference. They were very professional to work with and had great follow-through,” noted Vanderventer.

RESOLUTION provides the counties a system for cashiering, indexing, imaging, archiving and retrieval of documents. Key benefits of the solution include:

• Adherence to computing standards - RESOLUTION is based upon Window 2003 and Microsoft SQL Server, which is the predominant standard chosen by local governments.
• Hardware independent – It works with all standard computer hardware, allowing maximization of existing hardware and a higher return on investment.
• Increased Accessibility – Because RESOLUTION search functionality is built as an Internet application, it only requires a Web browser for access.
• Workflow Efficiency – Data entered at any point in the system is immediately available to all processes in the system (cashiering, indexing, imaging, and archiving). Duplication of data entry is reduced.
•  Flexibility of Workflow – The system allows counties to choose the workflow that is right for their individual office. It also allows for workflow changes without software changes.
• Customer driven features - Both county employees and the public benefit from the ability to choose search parameters and features.

RESULTS AND FUTURE PLANS
On the first day of the system conversion to Cott, Lake County recorded over 900 documents. The new system also lends itself to easier cross training for the staff. Each employee no longer has to do the same job all day long. They can easily record, scan, and index, giving them a variety of duties from which to choose.

 “It can be a daunting task to change your system in a busy land records office. Cott was so patient and took the time to explain every single detail to us. The transition was very smooth due to Cott’s extensive preparation and training with our staff. They offered as many classes as we needed and the training was exceptional,” noted Vanderventer.

 “With the installation of Cott’s Resolution, we were able to record and scan immediately—returning the original to the owner and work from our scanned image. This improved our customer service,” said Vanderventer.

“We have about 300 charge accounts for our regular customers and the new Cott Billing Module allows us to offer greater detail on transaction statements, which our customers will appreciate,” explained Vanderventer.

“Resolution opens the door to e-commerce for us. We are ready to provide documents online and plan to offer subscription-based internet access for those customers who require it by the end of 2006,” added Vanderventer.