Since taking office this year, District Attorney Will Furse has spent about $600 on copy paper.
It’s estimated that a tree 4- feet tall and six to eight inches in diameter can produce 16.5 reams of copy paper. Furse said his agency has used approximately 200 reams of copy paper since taking office in January, roughly consuming more than a dozen trees.
“It’s important that I seek innovative methods to maximize our county’s limited resources, and a paperless office is one of those ways,” said Furse.
In an attempt to be more environmentally friendly, the district attorney has mandated that his office transition to paperless files. Instituting a digital work environment saves time, money and resources, Furse said, citing attorneys and staff can securely access files from anywhere including their home, office and the courtroom.
“Technology continues to provide effective ways to not only help the environment, but also save time and taxpayer money,” he added. “It takes great effort to implement this technology, and I’m proud of my staff for being so adaptable to the change.”
With the digital move, the district attorney produces electronic files for each case, and that information is downloaded onto thumb drives for use by defense attorneys.
“Maintaining digital files does not negatively impact the public’s access to records at all,” Furse claimed. “For those who request paper files, our office is happy to oblige.”
To safeguard sensitive court documents, the district attorney’s office has taken appropriate steps to properly preserve and archive public records for future use.
“All of our digital files are backed up in triplicate to prevent accidental loss,” Furse said.
tbaker@cortezjournal.com
