Release:
PlanFirst Success Story: Colquitt County
DCA’s PlanFirst program recognizes and rewards Georgia communities that clearly demonstrate an established pattern of successfully implementing their Local Comprehensive Plan. Our PlanFirst “Success Story” series highlights these cities and counties by sharing their incredible achievements. You can view all of the communities on our Story Map.
Foresight for a county records archive began when former Colquitt County commissioners included funds within the 2002 SPLOST referendum to construct a county archive/records repository. Establishment of a records archive transcended Comprehensive Plans as listed in both the Short Term Work Program in the 2008 update and within the Community Work Program in the 2018 Comprehensive Plan Update.
Beginning in 2017, upon review of the county’s Short Term Work Program and the knowledge of untouched SPLOST funds, steps were taken to devise a plan to utilize these SPLOST funds. In this era of technology, local officials transferred attention to a digital records repository as opposed to the construction of a physical one.
This resulted in the elimination of property insurance and heating/cooling costs, and also eliminated the need for additional personnel. In March 2018, the Board of Commissioners purchased software to begin the transfer of records into digital format via the software Laserfiche.
Today, the office of the County Clerk, the Finance Department, and the Human Resources Departments have all made the transition to digital records. The next phase of the project will consist of Colquitt County’s building and code department.
With ample remaining SPLOST funds dedicated to this purpose, they are slowly converting all county records into a digital format. This is a true success story due to the proper stewardship and utilization of taxpayer funds and the support and initiative of local leadership.
