Online County Service Not Feasible Sans Fee
From books to movies to cars to stock trades, whenever a product or service has moved to the Internet, the price to the customer typically goes down.
But when Orange County last month became the first county in the nation to let the public order copies of birth, death and marriage certificates through its World Wide Web site, it started charging an additional $4 fee.
The GovernLink system allows people to order certified copies of the documents, which are then mailed within three business days. Online payment is by credit card.
Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin developed the system and receives the $4 fee for online ordering. The company hopes to sign up other government agencies around the country.
The add-on fee illustrates the difficulties government agencies have in joining the world of electronic commerce. Government agencies are burdened by greater public scrutiny, older computer systems and rigid practices.
By comparison, new private-sector companies have placed large long-term bets on Internet ventures while losing millions in the short term.
“The electronic age hasn’t relieved us of the staffing level and services that we have to maintain,” said Gary L. Granville, Orange County’s clerk-recorder. “Our cost of handling is the same, and that’s the fly in the ointment.”
Even accepting payments by credit card is not something many government agencies, including Orange County offices, are set up to cheaply accommodate.
Because of that, the person ordering documents online from the county actually pays about what the document would cost if ordered in person and paid by credit card.
In person, for example, a copy of a birth certificate costs $15; online the charge is $19. The consumer ordering in-person and using a credit card would pay a $5 service fee, for a total cost of $20.
Government agencies have offered information through their Web sites for years, but they have been slow to conduct actual transactions over the Internet.
No one disputes the convenience to consumers of using the Internet to place orders, saving people the cost and time of driving to a county office. But the fixed costs of government, from the buildings it owns to the people it employs, prevent it from offering price cuts that online merchants such as Amazon.com have made in the retail world.
Also, investors have tolerated large losses by Internet companies, something taxpayers probably wouldn’t tolerate from government agencies. For example, Wall Street darling Amazon.com has lost $64.1 million since the company was born four years ago. And the Seattle-based company has said that it “will continue to incur substantial operating losses for the foreseeable future” and that the rate of those losses will increase significantly.
“Eventually, with a lot of volume, the online system may result in improved efficiencies that will lower the costs, but that’s not a known factor,” said Holli Ploog, a senior vice president with Lockheed.
Alyse Terhune, an analyst with the Gartner Group of Stamford, Conn., said that charging a premium to use online services is a disincentive that “becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Governments tend to have myriad computer systems, most incompatible with each other, that have to be converted to a common format before they can be put online. That adds costs to the process, Terhune said. Also, businesses can cut costs by closing offices or laying off employees, moves that governments tend to have a harder time making.
In the end, it will take more people being online before government agencies decide they can offer services over the Internet without charging extra.
“Until we get a majority of the residences in the community using an online service, it’s going to be costly for government,” said Jacqueline Byers, research director for the Washington-based National Assn. of Counties.
Still, Orange County’s first foray into online transactions has met with some success. Since the site began operation Sept. 21, it has handled orders for 85 birth certificates, 15 death certificates and 23 marriage certificates.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Paper Chase
Certified copies of birth, death and marriage certificates now can be ordered online from the Orange County clerk-recorder’s office. The electronic method costs more and takes longer than requesting certificates in person, but you don’t have to stand in line or pay to park. How to obtain documents:
In person: Certificates are issued the same day. Those requesting birth certificates may be required to show photo identification.
Mail: List the type of certificate, date of event, your address and daytime telephone number. Make checks payable to “Gary L. Granville--Orange County clerk-recorder.” Mail to the address listed below. Allow three business days for processing.
Fax: Requires same data as a mail request, plus a credit card number for payment. Documents are mailed within three business days. Overnight delivery available. Fax number: (714) 972-3950
Telephone: (714) 834-2500; press “O” for a customer service representative. Payment by credit card only. Documents are mailed within three business days. Overnight delivery available.
Online: Additional $4 fee per document. Payment must be by credit card, but the $5 service fee for credit card orders is waived. Documents are mailed within three business days. Overnight delivery available. Web site address: https://www.oc.ca.gov
WHAT’S AVAILABLE; HOW MUCH
* Birth certificate, $15
* Death certificate, $8
* Marriage certificate, $12
* Additional $5 if paying by credit card
* Fictitious business name searches available; $6 in person and $4 online
TO ORDER IN PERSON
Where: 12 Civic Center Plaza, Room 211, Santa Ana
Hours: 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays
Information: (714) 834-2500
Parking: 25 cents per hour at on-street meters, 75 cents per half-hour in parking structures
Source: Orange County clerk-recorder’s office
Los Angeles Times
