A new streamlined system is in place to speed up property transactions and save taxpayer dollars. Municipalities in Erie County can now receive Real Property transfer reports and deeds electronically.County Clerk Chris Jacobs says up until this week, workers would scan hundreds of documents, send them to another office for printing and sorting, and then they would be mailed on a weekly basis.
"It is a significant savings of time and manpower at the county level, both at the clerk's office and at the tax office, and on the local level for those that decide to participate," Jacobs said.
So far, about half of the 25 towns and three cities in Erie County are taking part.
"We are going to save on postage, we are going to save on paper, we are going to save on toner, and we are going to save valuable time," said the county's Real Property Director Joe Maciejewski. "This is what technology is meant to do. It's meant to be efficient."
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz says completing property transfers in real time not only reduces waste and the need for storage, it also saves money.
“The electronic transfer of deeds and real property tax information is a good example of government working together and creating a contemporary system that saves taxpayers time, money, and resources,” Poloncarz said, in a statement.
Municipalities currently participating in the paperless process include the cities of Buffalo, Lackawanna, and Tonawanda, and the towns of Amherst, Boston, Colden, Concord, Grand Island, Hamburg, Holland, Newstead, Orchard Park, and Tonawanda.
