Porter County offices going digital

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Updated: March 18, 2012 8:16AM

VALPARAISO — Porter County government is going digital.

In the second phase of a total quality management program started last year, the county will be going to digital document management, which will allow for greater document sharing between departments and more documents to be available online, Porter County Auditor Bob Wichlinski announced Thursday at the county’s administrative center.

Last year’s TQM effort included Wichlinski, Treasurer Mike Bucko and Assessor Jon Snyder. Porter County Recorder Jon Miller has now been added to the mix, and he will spearhead the digitalization effort.

The high-tech moves also will include broadcast of county meetings on the Internet.

“It’s only by everybody working together that we’re going to be able to make this happen,” Wichlinski said before an audience comprised of the staffs of the various county offices involved.

The TQM program was launched last year with a budget of almost $500,000 from the county’s general fund, as approved by the County Council. Last year’s accomplishments included clearing up outstanding appeals in the assessor’s office; collection of homestead exemption violations through the auditor’s office; and back tax collection by the treasurer’s office.

This year’s TQM plans will cost $750,000 — it will be more because of the scope of the work — but all of the money will be from the auditor’s nonreverting fund, which is from homestead exemption violations, Wichlinski said.

TQM team members will ask the County Council to approve the funding at its Feb. 28 meeting, and later will ask the Board of Commissioners to approve any contracts.

Other highlights of this year’s plan include fund accounting support for the Porter County Animal Shelter and the Memorial Opera House, and using digital pictometry to eliminate the need for county officials to visit taxpayers’ homes for property value assessment.

Bucko said he’s impressed with what he’s seen so far of TQM.

“In the last two and a half years, we have experienced the greatest amount of collaboration and cooperation in county government that I’ve seen in 17 years,” he said.