GovNews Blog | Extract Systems

My home state of Massachusetts can claim to be the first in many things in this country.  The Boston Commons was the first public park.  Boston Latin, not surprisingly also in Boston, was the first public school.  Boston is also home to the first free municipal library and the first underground metro.   The first modern World Series of baseball was played in Boston.   These are just a few examples of the many ‘firsts’ that Massachusetts can claim.

However, there’s one troubling area where Massachusetts lags nearly all 50 States - public access to government records.

Extract Systems was selected by the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia to redact SSNs from more than 1.5 million pages of court documents as a service at Extract's secure facility. Fairfax County is the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia with more than 1.1 million residents and an annual budget larger than four states.

Fairfax Circuit Court cited Extract’s data privacy capabilities and experience as the primary reason for its selection to protect constituents’ private information. Extract had previously worked with the County to redact more than 44.5 million pages of historical land records for the Land Records Division of the Fairfax Circuit Court. This large project was completed with a 99.5% accuracy rate, ahead of schedule and on budget.

With nearly 1.2 million residents, Travis County is the fifth-most populous county in Texas – the second most populous state in the U.S. Travis County is home to the state capital, Austin, and the University of Texas. Working through their solution provider, Imagesoft, the County purchased an enterprise license of Hyland OnBase in 2014 to be deployed countywide. To improve customer service, government transparency and efficiency while securing sensitive information in their documents, the County felt it was critical to provide proven automated redaction software as part of their document management workflow. Several key departments including the County Clerk, District Clerk, County Attorney and District Attorney will be the first to deploy ID Shield.

Extract Systems, a leading provider of automated redaction software, is pleased to announce that the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office has selected ID Shield Intelligent Redaction Software. As documents are received by the Dallas County DA’s office for criminal case prosecution, they will be processed through ID Shield and automatically redacted. ID Shield will be installed on the workstations of 150 criminal attorneys to review the results of the automated redaction process before documents are released. 

Interview with Mark Monacelli, St. Louis County Public Records & Property Valuation Director

Interview with Jeff Thigpen - Guildford County Register of Deeds and Champion of the Public Trust

Q: Guilford County’s Register of Deeds website states, “We are committed to be the best organization, a role model, by using the most advanced technology and innovative business practices.” How does your office put that commitment into practice?

A: We continually assess our business practices based on available technology to serve our customers effectively and efficiently. We replaced our 23 year old computer system; implemented e-recording; redacted social security numbers and personal information; created an online marriage application and are implementing a program for online requests for birth, death, and marriage certificates. In addition, we were awarded the 2010 North Carolina Association of County Commissioner Ketner Award for Productivity Efficiencies for our employee cross- training program that led to increased employee value, better customer service, and reduced our overall budget $400,000.

Interview with Jack Arrowsmith Douglas County Colorado Recorder

Q: What effect has the weather and flooding had statewide for Clerks and Recorders?

A: Many of our Counties were affected by flooding and several counties, including Boulder and Larimer, were closed for a day or two. Those clerks did a terrific job and resumed normal business in a very short period of time. There were numerous clerks and staff members that were working in their offices while trying to recover from flooding that had impacted their personal residences. What a dedicated group of folks we have in Colorado. We still have communities trying to rebuild roads and the Colorado Department of Transportation projects that all Colorado roads will be passable by December 1st.

Interview with John LaFave: Milwaukee County Register of Deeds

Q: In 2003, Milwaukee County became one of the first counties in the country to begin electronic recording of real estate documents that very year. What challenges did the county face during that transition – or was it an immediate success?

A: When we started in July 2003, only Satisfactions of Mortgage were received electronically. It was successful but rather cumbersome. For a couple of years we used a stand-alone system offered by an eVendor that was not integrated with our software system. We had to print a paper copy of each eDoc and scan it into our system. From the standpoint of the submitter it was electronic. For our office it was actually a hybrid of electronic and paper. In our first full year of eRecording, 2004, 3.4% of documents were electronic. We’re now over half with 53% in 2013.

Interview with NACM President, David Slayton

Q:The OCA provides technical and administrative services to 2,721 courts and 3,436 judges across Texas. In your role as administrative director, you supervise more than 200 employees and oversee a $45 million annual budget. Describe a typical day as the Court Administrator of the Texas Office of Court Administration.

A:There are very few typical days as the Court Administrator of OCA. Our office is responsible for providing information and resources in numerous disparate projects impacting the judiciary. Much of my day is spent in meetings with staff, judges, legislators, or other stakeholders. The projects can range from e-filing to collections improvement programs to guardianship issues. Each day brings new challenges and opportunities to address those challenges.

Interview with PRIA Secretary and Linn County, Iowa Recorder - Joan McCalmant

Q: You’re Secretary of PRIA (Property Records Industry Association). How many members strong is PRIA? What is PRIA’s mission?

A: PRIA has 500+ members and is the leading resource for the land records industry. PRIA develops and promotes national standards and best practices for the land records industry.