Courthouse needs tech overhaul

Putnam County Courthouse

Termed “a monster issue” by one county official, internet service at the Putnam County Courthouse could soon haunt local officials if state standards are not met.

While it isn’t news that the tangled web of telephone wires and ethernet cables winding their way through the ancient building provide inconsistent internet connection at best, a new mandate from the state may have been news to the Putnam County Commissioners.

Clerk Heather Gilbert brought the three-member board up to speed on new electronic filing requirements from the State of Indiana during their bi-monthly meeting last week.

The state has mandated that e-filing be the new standard in all county clerk offices across the state.

Gilbert said her office is on schedule to go live with e-filing in April 2018, which means things must be ready by January.

Even the January deadline is sort of a gift from the state, knowing of Putnam County’s struggles with connection at the courthouse.

“They have put us at the end of the line because they have checked us in the past and we didn’t pass,” Gilbert said.

The most recent test, and failure, came on Aug. 4. Gilbert said the contractor who tested “could not hold onto the internet.”

“He sat there for a half-hour and said he lost it (internet connection) multiple times,” Gilbert said.

A full report on the contractor’s findings is due to Circuit Court Judge Matt Headley before month’s end.

The problem with poor connection while using the state’s new e-filing system is that if a document is not fully filed when a loss of service occurs, it cannot just be restarted where it left off. Connection must be maintained throughout the process.

Observing that wires seem to be crossed in the building and that all internet traffic “seems to go through (her) office,” Gilbert told the commissioners that Metronet will be installing a fiber optic cable reserved for the clerk’s office. It will come at a cost of $129 per month.

The commissioners accepted Gilbert’s plan with little comment, but Commissioner Rick Woodall acknowledged that it is indicative of a larger technology problem the county is facing.

“This is a whole bigger issue than just the clerk’s office,” Woodall said. “This is a monster issue.”