Less paper, more technology will save money and trees

August 31, 2009

Summary

Council calls for Executive to increase County use of electronic forms

Story

The Metropolitan King County Council today called for the County to explore a high-tech solution to reducing the use of paper in County government. The Council adopted a motion urging a move to replace as many paper forms with electronic forms as possible to help King County save money at a time when resources are declining, which will also assist in preventing waste and improving customer service.

“As we look for new and more efficient ways to run government, King County needs to use every resource at its disposal to save materials and money,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, who represents Northeast King County. “Expediting technology solutions can save staff time and printing expenses and make government more accessible to the citizens. This plan will allow King County to take advantage of technology advances that can provide operational efficiencies and reduce government costs.”

The plan aims to migrate to electronic forms for most King County business uses. The motion requests the county executive to evaluate the business need for existing paper forms and prepare a plan by April 30, 2010, setting targets for replacing paper forms with electronic forms whenever feasible.

“Advancements in electronic security for privacy now make it much easier and more practical to create virtual forms rather than to fill out hard-copy forms on paper,” said Lambert. “Court and jail records already have implemented excellent electronic systems for filling out forms. Migrating further to electronic record-keeping will protect the environment, save trees, save storage space, reduce waste, improve accessibility and save money for citizens and staff.”


Read the motion