Program allows free searches

A recent update to software and services used by the Sweetwater County Clerk’s Office allows users to seek information without paying for it.

The county recently upgraded its online database to the iDoc Market because service and support for its previous iteration was going to be discontinued, according to Sweetwater County Clerk Cindy Lane. Lane’s office has come under fire in recent months because of the move, as critics claim the upgraded service forces users to subscribe to a service for online access to land records.

While the iDoc Market does seek a charge for view and print copies of county documents transferred into its database by Tyler Technologies, which oversees the software, users can opt to perform a basic search for information contained on the database without being charged.

For example, a warranty deed for a property will list the date it was recorded, the legal description for the property, the grantors and grantees involved in the transaction, as well as the physical book and page number the deed is recorded on.

Users wanting to view the scanned copies of the pages or print out the pages from their home or office would have to decide if they want to purchase a day or week pass valued at $10 and $50 respectively, pay $150 for a month of full access or $1,500 annually.

The money paid is split between the county and Tyler Technologies, the company which operates and maintains both iDoc Market and the Document Pro system at the county courthouse, with the county keeping 60 percent. The split changes for funds generated form annual passes, with the county receiving 80 percent of the money.

Lane said she researched what other counties charged for similar iDoc Marketplace usage when determining a fee structure, saying she aimed for the middle of what she saw other Wyoming counties charging.

Some allowed for free access and printing of the scanned documents on their databases, while others charged.

Lane said she plans to reconsider the fee at the end of the year, saying she may lower the price if she thinks the county is generating too much revenue from the service.

She said she wants to charge a fee that helps the county recover some of the costs associated with the software upgrade.

Lane also said it isn’t a charge for access to public documents, as they are available for inspection during normal office hours. Copies of those documents can be made at 25 cents per page, a price Lane said was set by state statute.

 

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