Interactive Recording Kiosk

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

For more than 13 years, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has consistently recorded in excess of 1 million documents per year – recording over 1.9 million documents in 2005. Further, Maricopa County has experienced tremendous growth over the last several years, with four of its municipalities making the Forbes Top Ten list for fastest growing cities in America. As the State of Arizona moved into a budget crisis, the Recorder’s Office faced the challenge of providing cost effective and timely customer service to this newly developed growth. After examining all of its options, the County opted to develop a plan to implement a recording kiosk for its residents. The kiosks entail an easy-to-use touch screen display, a flatbed scanner for documents scanning, a printer for cover pages that contain the recording information and receipts, various cameras for observation, spill-restraint keyboard and roller ball. They also contain an embedded microphone and speakers to allow customers to communicate directly, from remote locations, with an employee in the Recorder’s Office. The kiosk software was developed in-house by the Recorder’s development team, and in March 2010 the County released the first interactive recording kiosk in the nation. Since the unveiling, two more kiosks have been ordered with budget placement for two further kiosks to be purchased and placed in the upcoming fiscal year. In the first nine months after its release, the Recorder’s office had over 117 customers utilize the kiosk in Phoenix, and at the end of December 2010 the recording kiosk was placed in the first remote location. The results were even better than expected, with 12 recordings in the first week and over eighty successful recordings by the end of the first month. The County has received an overwhelming flow of positive feedback with regard to the kiosks, and their hope is to further augment the success of the program in the future by offering voter registration and property tax payments through the kiosks.