Fulfills promise to improve public access to records

Lt. Governor Vargrave Richards today unveiled new technology that will simplify access to public records for citizens of the Virgin Islands.

The system, known as Landata e-STAR Plus, is an Internet-based program that enables the public to access officially recorded documents such as property deeds, 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world.

"My pledge to the people when I was elected was to automate the office of the Lieutenant Governor," Lt. Governor Richards said. "One of those reasons was for public access and the other for security. These records must be preserved, and in the case of a hurricane, able to be protected and restored. In addition, this system will assist law enforcement by speeding up the search for hidden assets."

Lt. Governor Richards said this new database system is expanded to the Office of the Tax Assessor, where property bills can now be viewed online.

"When I assumed this office, I met a paper system," Lt. Governor Richards said. "We now have a digital copy of all documents. If all paper were destroyed, we could recreate it instantly. We also have a copy stored off island every night."

He added that the implementation of this new system will make it easier for anyone with access to the Internet to apply for a password and search for documents via a secure server. People on St. John will no longer have to travel to St. Thomas to search these public documents, he said.

"This will eliminate the wait time for manual searches in our offices and increase customer service and efficiency," Lt. Governor Richards said.