The Bourbon County appraiser’s office will be able to complete more work in the field in 2017 after receiving the commission’s approval to invest in a new field software program that will reduce their time entering data in the office.
The software made available by Tyler Technologies is used via tablets and allows county employees to enter data while in the field instead of having to return to the office to upload that data, saving the office time.
County Appraiser Clint Anderson presented the information to the commissioners Tuesday morning, saying he had been in the process of researching the program for some time.
“I think it’s a forward thinking opportunity for us to reduce some costs of our office,” Anderson said.
The initial cost of the program is $14,000 for the program itself, its installation and training in it. Part of that cost will be taken from the remaining funds in the appraisal office budget, while the remainder will be taken from the Neighborhood Revitalization Program account. Starting in 2018, there will then be an annual, set fee of $3,625, which Anderson said is feasible from his annual budget with the time and money they save by using the program.
Commission Chairperson Barbara Albright expressed concern over using a program that is still in just its experimental stages, but Anderson said a number of counties in Kansas are already using it, some of them for at least a couple years.
“They’re very happy with it,” Anderson said, saying other counties expressed pleasure with the return on it.
Anderson said they already have much of the needed equipment, such as tablets and a laptop the program would be used on. The program is to be installed and the employees trained in it in late March or early April of 2017.
The commission approved the program and signed the agreement, with the stipulation that no more than $8,500 be used from the NRP account.
- County Attorney Justin Meeks also informed the commission that in the near future they will need to consider updating the policy handbook, since it has had few updates since the 1990s. On Tuesday, the commission decided to go ahead and make the change of allowing residents outside of Bourbon County to be hired for county positions that require specific licensing, such as attorneys and nurses. The application of such a policy will be put in place after the commissioners approve the handbook as a whole. Other issues to be addressed could involve employee training and orientation, nepotism, compensation and the relationship between the county policies and those held by the sheriff’s office.
So $14,000 to have a program installed and then another $3,625 a year to keep using it. And how exactly does this benefit the taxpayer? Oh yeah, it doesn’t, but it makes Mr. Anderson’s job easier. Easier for him and his office to go around and try to tax us more. The way this county taxes people is already crazy. From property tax, to personal property tax, sales tax, etc. Seems like they don’t want anybody to be able to enjoy the rewards of what they have earned in life. All this town/county cares about is creating more and more low-income slums…… Isn’t that the job of the Democrats? Huh? How about we get rid of all the low income crap and build something nice for once? Something that people willing to work their behinds off can enjoy…….Something better than the welfare class which seems to be the only growing class around here 🙁 Maybe 2017 can be that year, the year the hand outs stop, the year you have to work for what you get, the year KS improves the lives of its residents, instead of taxing them all into poverty……..
> And how exactly does this benefit the taxpayer? Oh yeah, it doesn’t
Well as a resident who has had some “phantom” buildings show up on my tax bill, I’m in favor of anything that lets that be more accurate so I can pay for what I have and not structures that don’t exist.
Wow Bob, “phantom” buildings showing up on your tax bill is horrible. But shouldn’t you be upset at the PERSON that runs the tax office. After all, don’t you write your checks to him? No amount of hi-tech can make up for stupidity and corruption. All these tablets will do is let them do their job right or wrong, faster……Don’t be so passive Bob, the Tax collector is never your friend…….doesn’t matter how nice of a person they may or may not be. It is their job to reach deep down in YOUR pockets to take YOUR money from YOU, just so YOU can keep what YOU already paid for……Let that sink in, this $18k the county just spent was NOT intended to make the residents lives better in any way, it’s money spent as an investment that they expect high returns on………..