Paperless document recording: saving time and money in Broward County; Broward County's use of electronic document recording demonstrates how governments can use technology to improve operational efficiency and better serve their customers.

• Author: Heller, Melissa Pinto
• Position: Brief Article

Editor's note: Each year GFOA bestows its prestigious Awards for Excellence to recognize outstanding contributions to the practice of government finance. This article describes the 2001 winning entry in the Technology category.

Ensuring that resources grow at the same pace as workload is always challenging for public entities. This challenge often leads to an ongoing quest for increased operational efficiency. Since the early 1990s, the Broward County Records Division has looked to technology to improve the efficiency of the recording process. Most recently, this drive for efficiency resulted in the implementation of electronic document recording. Electronic recording refers to the process of preparing and submitting documents to the recording office electronically rather than by mail or in person. Broward County's experience can provide guidance for other governments considering electronic recording. More importantly, it demonstrates how governments can make use of technology to improve operational efficiency.

The Need for Efficiency

The Records Division is responsible for recording and storing all recordable documents generated in Broward County according to Florida state law. Recordable documents vary from state to state, but in Florida they include deeds, mortgages, liens, and court judgments. The vast majority of documents currently recorded are submitted in hard copy (paper) format. Paper documents can be submitted for recording either by mail or in person. Several staff members are involved in the recording process for each document, which includes the following steps: recording, scanning, indexing, and returning the document to the customer. The Records Division also has a search section that is responsible for assisting customers who wish to obtain copies of previously recorded documents.

During the 1990s, the number of documents recorded by the county increased by 47 percent, while the staff allocation for this activity increased by only 37 percent. The volume increase was largely due to population growth, land development, and favorable interest rates. Broward County has experienced substantial population growth since the 1960s. The 1990 census indicated that the population had more than doubled since 1970. These rapid growth rates continued through the 1990s, producing nearly a 30 percent population increase between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. Not surprisingly, new development and residential construction has proceeded at a feverish rate, affecting the number of recordings from both the land development process and real estate sales. The lower interest rates of the past few years, including the record rate decrease in the fall of 2001, have caused a significant number of recordings related to home mortgage refinancing.

Funding for document recording is not directly related to volume. Like other general fund agencies, the Records Division is required to show significant and sustainable workload changes before additional resources are provided. The local and national economies were very strong through the 1990s, providing above-average growth for the county's general fund revenues. During this period, funding was provided to allocate 26 additional positions for document recording. The recent economic downturn, compounded by the reduction in tourism since September 11, has slowed revenue growth considerably. As a result, resources are likely to become even scarcer in the years to come.

Legal Basis and Benefits of Electronic Recording

Electronic recording is enabled by two key pieces of federal legislation. The first of these is the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. UETA ensures that electronic transactions are as enforceable as paper-based transactions. The Uniform Law Commissioners originated and distributed the text of UETA to each state, so each could choose whether or not to adopt it. With the signing of the Florida Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, paperless transactions became legal in the State of Florida on July 1, 2000. The second key piece of legislation is the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. Signed on June 30, 2000, and effective in October 2000, the E-SIGN law grants electronic signatures the same legal status as handwritten pen-and-ink signatures. Together, these two laws provide the legal basis for electronic document recording.

Electronic recording can achieve significant financial savings by reducing the time and human intervention currently involved in the recording process. Electronic recording differs from traditional paper document recording in several important ways. All documents recorded...