Bedford had been using KVS software since 1996 when they purchased General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Collection, Purchasing and Utility Billing systems. Since then, they added Budget Preparation, Payroll, Fixed Assets, Accounts Receivable and Workflow modules, as well as the Remote Backup Service. In 2006, Bedford upgraded to the Enterprise Edition, which uses browser-based technology and the Oracle relational database platform as a means of providing state-of-the-art systems.

"I believe we first saw the Enterprise Edition at the 2003 KVS User Conference," said Peter Naum, Bedford Finance Director. "We were excited about the product's potential and continued to watch its development and evolution with enthusiasm," he said. "We were anxious to get this Oracle-based product, as we saw it to be progressive, functionally enriched, and very user friendly"

With 71 users, an upgrade like this could be a harrowing endeavor, especially since the staff had been comfortable with using the Standard version for so long. But according to Naum, the Enterprise Edition was very favorably received for its functionality and appearance.

"The system provides the functionality and ease of use of Windows-based software, so that even our most 'entrenched' users of the Standard Edition came on board," said Bedford Information Systems Manager Sherwood Ives. Examples he gave of particularly useful functionality include the ability to drill down for information in the Purchasing system, the various search and sort options, and PDF report generation. "It has allowed departments to independently do inquiries and reporting on budgetary information, and also facilitated the distributed creation of requisitions in the purchasing process and the input of departmental requests in the budget preparation process," Ives added.

During the conversion, Naum said, there were some issues that arose primarily due to the timing - the month of June being a late point in the town's fiscal year. "Our implementation situation," Ives explained, "was complicated by the fact that two Bedford entities, Town and School departments, were participating, and we opted to implement a new combined purchasing approach for Accounts Payable." Both men agreed that KVS worked quite closely with them to ensure a successful implementation.

Interaction with KVS employees over the years and in each stage of the upgrade process has been a good experience, Naum noted. "The training we received was both necessary and quite comprehensive," he said.

Users were rotated to attend the relevant training sessions for the modules they would eventually utilize. "Our trainers were professional and obliging, almost to a fault, in engaging the trainees in discussions of what was needed and how to use the software," Ives remarked.

The relationship with the KVS software support representatives post training, Naum said, has been nothing but good as well. "We feel we get comprehensive and timely responses to our questions," he said. "One critical factor for me has always been the responsiveness of support; my perception of their ability to meet my expectations was one of the important reasons I chose KVS in the mid '90s."

The town's interaction with the technical staff has always been a pleasure, Ives said, noting that the staff is consistently friendly and responsive. "By and large, we are exceptionally pleased with their efforts directed to our problems," he stated. "Equally important, there are systems in place to monitor progress, such as call logs and system reviews.

"We like the fact that, as an Oracle product, the Enterprise system is built on a dependable and enduring database system," Ives continued. "Another beneficial feature of the software is that it resides on the server and, in our particular configuration, is access by Remote Desktop, so that clients do not have to be individually configured."

KVS recently added new functionality to some Enterprise reports at Bedford's request, and created the Budget Publication Report specifically for use by the Town Manager, Selectmen, and the Finance Committee. "We have received compliments for this product, and it certainly demonstrates that KVS works with us as a partner in sculpting software to our needs and expectations," Naum asserted. "Easy, tailored and flexible reporting is an important aspect of a good financial system," he added. "In providing a wider range of sorting and selection options and generating reports in consistent PDF formats, KVS demonstrates its commitment to this philosophy."

Over the years, Bedford has hosted many all-day demonstrations of KVS software for the benefit of other Massachusetts municipalities and schools who have inquired about its capabilities. "I am most pleased to state that, in many instances, they then chose to purchase the KVS system, causing the Massachusetts client base to grow significantly," Naum observed.

"We continue to recommend KVS Enterprise software to other communities because, as an Oracle-based product, it offers security, functionality, and reliability," Ives stated.

"KVS has been focused on turnkey municipal financial software applications for decades, demonstration both experience and expertise," Naum said. "These factors, combined with responsive support, allow KVS to concentrate on the most important things: the customer and the product."

The population of Carrollton is slightly over 3,800. "It's a small town atmosphere with a very large industrial base," Pyles explained. Citizens in small towns expect government services to be just as efficient as in large cities, if not more so, she stated, and the advanced technology of KVS's Enterprise Edition was just what Carrollton officials were looking for.

"We think the software is easy to learn and use," Pyles said. While admitting that the new screens and processes take some getting used to after upgrading, Pyles said she is very pleased with the change. "Running off accounts payables checks seems to be a lot simpler and quicker. Also, if for some reason you need to correct something, it's easier to reverse entries," she noted.

Currently the city's Administrative Office uses the KVS General Ledger, Budget Preparation, Payroll, and Purchasing modules, with other departments granted read-only access to their respective budgets.

At various city clerk meetings, Pyles said she has often recommended Enterprise and KVS. "I recommended KVS because they are truly a municipal accounting system: fund accounting," she explained. "Everything interfaces so well."

"I also told them the support team is really great," she continued. "We had a very easy training and switch over live with the KVS support staff. They know the Enterprise system, could answer all of our questions, and are able to help us if we call in for support."

Even with the distance from KVS headquarters in New York State, Pyles said the staff at Carrollton feels they always get an answer from KVS within a day of asking a question or the next morning. She said they feel that KVS is committed to Kentucky. "And I hope they are for a long time," she added.

About nine people on the Clarence staff had been using KVS’s Cobol financial software since the town became a client in 1999. After learning about the new Enterprise version using Oracle technology, Pam volunteered the town to be a test site for the software. “I’m not someone who is afraid of change,” she said. “I look forward to it, especially when it comes to technology.”

Everyone was very receptive to the new system and after having tested it out as a BETA site for several months, they were more excited than nervous about going live. “It has really made things much easier for them,” Pam said. The staff members in her office spend much of their time entering vouchers into the system, she explained, and for them there is one feature in particular that they are fond of – no more lost voucher numbers. The system assigns a number to the voucher at the end of the entry rather than at the beginning as it did before. Now if there is a distraction or if the power goes out, which has been known to happen on occasion she said, the voucher number is not assigned until the data is saved. Other nice features, Pam noted, are the current year default and multiple year history in General Ledger. The years are identified by the actual numbers rather than a “urrent or ext Year” prompt which prevents confusion, she said, and the multiple year history provides easy query and reporting capabilities.

“I have nothing but good things to say about the conversion and the top notch training that we received from both Carol and Cheryl,” Pam said, referring to KVS’ Carol Abato and Cheryl Weimer. Both women spent a couple days training at the finance office and then spent another day at the town’s other offices. Because of Clarence’s decentralized environment with nine users spread out in various departments, such as Parks and Engineering for example, there were some minor incidents at first. “There were some initial things that came up, but it's because everyone has their own way of doing things and different issues,” she asserted. The issues that did pop up, Pam explained, were always fixed very quickly after a simple phone call. “There hasn’t been anything that I’ve had to wait on,” she recalled. “Dennis Ching would program something and then tell us ‘it’s OK now’ and it was amazing how quickly the issue was resolved.”

When asked to compare the Enterprise financial suite to the old financial package, Pam said she thinks it is 1,000 percent better. “It’s like night and day,” she said. “Anyone feeling a little apprehensive about the change over, I think will soon realize that it is so much easier. It really is a wonderful package.”

After the selection was made, conversion began. "The process went very smoothly," Ms. Zeedyk said. "Having a KVS technology person visit us on site and work with our IT person was very beneficial," she noted.

Conversion and training on the Payroll system was especially memorable according to Ms. Zeedyk. "The Payroll conversion was handled by support personnel who did a phenomenal job of deciphering our peculiar payroll situations and who helped us to set up the software to efficiently and quickly process out of the ordinary situations," she recalled. "They were able to quickly grasp payroll situations we described and evaluate the best way to set up the software."

Since using KVS, payroll processing time has been cut from two days to one day, Ms. Zeedyk said. "There is no comparison because the system we were using was 10 years out of date, cumbersome and had little flexibility," she stated. "We are now emailing monthly financial reports to managers, tailored to their specific areas of responsibility. This was not possible before."

A more efficient library has been the result of the decision to use KVS software. "We're able to generate the information in the format we need more quickly in order to make decisions," Ms. Zeedyk commented. "Especially in this economy and having to reduce our spending, dependable information is critical."

The process was much easier than expected. "We actually cross trained on Collection and General Ledger and it took less time than anticipated," he said, noting that training was completed in one and a half days. The Financial and Payroll systems' training was equally effective. Serrano praised the KVS support staff for their training efforts. "They were very knowledgeable and had an answer for every question that we threw out."

Within one month of use, he recalled, the clerk who handles accounts payable for the Village had become very comfortable with the new system. "Our AP clerk has been here for 24 years and was very nervous about the change," he said. "Since she's been using it, she's been saying she's very happy with it, especially the ability to scan and get information more quickly."

Dobbs Ferry uses the KVS attachments feature for the Financial and Collection applications, which allows scanned documents to be stored and attached to associated programs within the system. "Before, we maintained hardcopy files," Serrano explained, citing things like invoices and packing slips which had to be physically attached to vouchers. Occasionally these items would be misplaced and thus hard to find when needed, he said. Now these items are attached electronically to the voucher record. The Village still holds on to hard copies but now they can be filed away in long-term storage. "I can't speak highly enough about the scanning capabilities of this system," he added.

Serrano previously worked for another municipality where he used many of the KVS applications. However, the Enterprise Collection system was new to him, as he had previously used the Standard version only. "The Enterprise version is much more user friendly," he concluded. "It's easier to search and find detailed information -- it's a great improvement."

The consensus among the Village staff, Serrano indicated, is that the KVS system has absolutely taken daily operations to a new level of efficiency. "It's like going from the Stone Age to modern times," he said.

Serrano stated that he has always recommended KVS to other municipalities and has every intention of continuing to do so. "KVS is a software company that is always adapting, with a friendly and knowledgeable staff that understands what the customers need," he said. "You can count on their applications to work for you every single day."

During the conversion process, the Borough continued using its old system alongside the KVS system, which helped to ensure that everyone felt comfortable. “This assured both staff and management that the process was working, and helped us look at the process from beginning to end, which was a big training tool for staff,” Krebs said.

After initial training on the KVS Utility Billing module which the Borough decided to use first, Krebs said she felt reassured that everything was going smoothly. “The Utility Billing went very well, which made it easier to tackle the next phase of our conversion,” she explained. Additional training soon followed when the Borough proceeded with the installation of the Collection, General Receipts, Accounts Receivable, Financial Management, Fixed Assets, BOLT (Business Occupational License & Tax), and Payroll modules. “As staff entered each phase, it was a big eye opener, but we felt more comfortable thanks to the KVS staff’s support and knowledge,” Krebs added.

Service to Borough customers has been made easier thanks to KVS software, mainly because everything is linked together, Krebs stated. “We have information on billing for our customers on one screen,” she noted. “To see the history, we simply page down, versus on our old system where we had to escape out of the billing screen and go to an entirely different section of the program.” The same applies for payroll programs which link all employee information together, invoicing/billing, and the taxes that are processed through the BOLT system, allowing for financial reporting, she added.

The new Borough Treasurer Cindy Wyatt says she likes the whole program because it’s user friendly, Krebs reported. “This is the response I get from my staff as a whole,” she said. “One process I like that changed the way the Borough performs is the issuing of checks,” Krebs informed, referring to check writing software by AP Technology which partners with KVS. “The system prints our checks with the signatures on them so we no longer have to run each check through a check writing machine.” Reporting is another area improved by the software, she noted. The built-in KVS reports have generally met the standards of reporting needed by Borough management. “Reports on the other system had to be written by the computer tech,” Krebs stated.

Making the transition from the old system was understandably worrisome. “It was very challenging for all of us but also very satisfying to see each new module of the financial package and how they all tied together to provide the end result,” she explained. She said she is pleased that the system is linked together to meet the accounting standards set for government entities and the needs of the Borough’s internal auditors.

“We added additional areas of the Borough to this package as we went along, like linking the Hanover Area Transfer Station invoicing into the Borough financial package with KVS,” Krebs remarked. “We have yet to add the Permits/Inspections which we hope to accomplish yet this year.”

Hanover recommended KVS to Penn Township which ultimately signed on as a KVS client as well. “We continue to express our satisfaction with the KVS product and professional staff to anyone we think is looking for a computer system and software package,” Krebs asserted. “The more clients using this package, the more support we have.”

So last fall, the Village made the switch to KVS for its financial and billing software. Thirty users in eight departments utilize everything from tax sale and lockbox to budget preparation and purchase order applications. “The KVS system is straight forward and simple to use, plus its half the price of the competitors and we always get a rep on the phone,” Fusco noted.

The transition to KVS was very seamless, he said. “I mean, there was definitely a learning curve involved,” he conceded, “but the transition went pretty smoothly.”

The Village is very happy with the new system, Fusco reported. “It works as they (KVS) said it would work, and everyone there is very polite,” he remarked. “The budget module is excellent -- it’s easy to use and it took only two hours to train personnel.”

Interaction with the KVS Technical staff has been excellent as well, Fusco stated, commenting that they were professional at all times.

Mamaroneck makes very few telephone calls to KVS for support, according to Fusco, because there is seldom a problem. “When we do call, the response is always prompt and accurate,” he stressed.

“KVS is a great product and it’s well worth the price,” Fusco concluded.

The library system is made up of one main library and five branches. While there are only three employees at the library who use the system on a daily basis, there are about 10 to 12 more using it weekly by remote access, Ms. Russell explained. "KVS provided additional accessibility options for our branch locations," she said. Another factor which impressed the selection committee was the fact that KVS regularly updates the system to address issues and functionality.

"This was the first conversion I have ever participated in and I had heard horror stories!" Ms. Russell stated while recalling the period after the decision was finalized. "What I really appreciated was the calm, reassuring staff that promptly resolved any glitches and took extra time to make sure I understood not just how to properly use the system -- but also the whys behind the how-tos."

The software transition was handled by the KVS project management staff, and Ms. Russell said they provided much more support than what the library staff expected. "The level of detail and involvement was great," she reported. "At times it seemed overwhelming to me, but I think that it made the transition better for us in the long run -- addressing all those little details that you often take for granted or do without thinking in your daily operations."

So has KVS customer support lived up to the library's expectations? Ms. Russell seems to think so. “The support we receive from KVS has always been outstanding," she stated. "We feel we have a great relationship with KVS support staff. The response time is good and they are willing to keep going until something is working correctly or explain why it cannot work the specific way I want it to, but suggest alternatives."

The KVS Attendance and Fixed Assets systems were purchased later, after the success of the initial systems, according to Ms. Russell. "They're a great compliment to the systems we were already using," she remarked. "We like that fixed assets can be updated as we input vouchers for payment -- so there is less chance of missing an asset."

The upgrade to the KVS system has resulted in increased efficiency in a variety of ways at Muskingum Public Library, Ms. Russell noted. "Our previous system was character based and requires a lot of backing in and out of menus to get the information we needed," she explained. "I like that I can click on bold or underlined information and 'drill down' to additional information." Branch locations have improved efficiency in regard to purchasing, including eliminating a lot of paper. "The old way took two to three days depending on deliveries to our branch locations," Ms. Russell said of the purchasing timeframe. "Now requisitions are approved and PO information is sent electronically all within hours. Branches and departments can also look at accounts specific to their location and see open purchase orders and account balances," she continued. "They can also see some vendor payments without having to call accounting."

The improvements at the library system have turned Ms. Russell into one of KVS's most outspoken supporters. "We recommend KVS to libraries in Ohio all the time!" she asserted. "We tell them what our experience has been and how they can expect great service and responsiveness to changes, which is something that we did not see before with our old system."

Knowledge, Value and Service (KVS) Makes the Town’s Financial Reporting Accurate

Town Hall’s accounting system, New World, has become old news. Training has almost been completed for the new system, KVS, which stands for Knowledge, Value, and Service.

Steven Sweet, IT Manager for the Town, said that the decision to upgrade was based on many factors, such as the fact that KVS has been on the Windows platform for years, and will better integrate with the software the Town is using. “In addition, we wanted to use software that other communities use, creating a vibrant user group,” Sweet said.

KVS is based in Buffalo, NY, and was designed to correspond with NYS reporting guidelines. KVS will also save the Town money, as the price for support is lower than the prior system. KVS specializes in municipal government software.

“It’s user friendly,” said Comptroller Leonie Douglas of the KVS system. Douglas and Controller’s Department staff members Diana Cafarelli and Patricia Hochron have 42 years of KVS experience between them. Town Hall employees received extensive training before the system went live.

The KVS system is much more flexible than New World, said Douglas. “Any small change had to be custom made,” he said of the outdated system. “The internal controls are excellent, and when applied appropriately, should assist tremendously in fraud prevention.”

Deputy Administrator Penny Paderewski cited Sweet’s leadership in the system installation as integral to the success of the project. “His insights and knowledge were invaluable, and we couldn’t have done this without him,” she said.

Considered part of the greater Cincinnati Metro area, Newport has evolved into an entertainment/tourist destination in recent years. Part of this evolution can be attributed to the addition of three attractions: the Newport Aquarium, named the number one aquarium in the Midwest in 2004; Newport on the Levee, a large shopping/entertainment complex; and the World Peace Bell, the largest swinging bell in the world. The city is moving forward, said Newport Financial Officer Debbie Vinson, with plans for major retail developments and high-rise office buildings, condominiums and apartments in the immediate future.

Over the past few years, Vinson said, all City departments have operated with a lean staff. “In order for us to remain productive, efficient and provide an expected high level and quality of service to the citizens, we need to be capable of easily assessing our financial information as well as having the capabilities of creating quick customized reports,” she explained. So a few years ago, the city’s Finance and Administration Department began re-assessing its accounting software. They researched other available systems and studied how the KVS Enterprise upgrade compared. “After much consideration, the two reasons we chose to upgrade to Enterprise were affordability and the value of maintaining our detail financial history back to 1996,” Vinson stated.

“Greg Engelman (Chief Financial Officer), Lenny Kuntz (Senior Accountant), and I have seen several demonstrations on Enterprise,” she recounted. “From what we have seen, it is definitely more up to date and comparable to other systems that are in the market. We especially liked the drill down features, the search capabilities, the attachment capabilities and easily being able to access and/or report on prior year financial history,” Vinson noted. “By upgrading to Enterprise,” she continued, “Greg Engelman and I hope to achieve more efficiency, streamline processes, produce better reporting and to adapt to changes as the demand for information continues to grow.”

Once the Finance and Administration staff becomes operational in the system, Vinson said they hope to begin a decentralization process to include other departments. “The first phase would be to familiarize them with the system by allowing them access to view their own accounts and run their own reports,” she explained. “The second phase would be for all seven departments to submit their budgets, enter requisitions, and submit bi-weekly payroll sheets.”

With Enterprise, the city will be able to use the KVS Budget Preparation system to alleviate repetitive steps and maintain detail information that will save time in the budget process, Vinson said. They also are very interested in the Enterprise attachment capabilities. “As the cost of storing paper files continues to increase, we feel it is in our best interest to move toward a paperless office environment as much as possible,” she added. “Upgrading to Enterprise is definitely a move in the right direction.”

"The transition was very well handled," Anna recalled. "The trainers and the technical staff have all been good -- professional and knowledgeable." Anna said she was pleased with the help that the technical department offered, as well as with project management. "Our KVS project manager is very professional, thorough, and easy to work with," she added.

A few representatives from the KVS Support team soon made their way to Schuylerville to train Anna and Rose Decker, Schuylerville's Deputy Clerk-Treasurer, on the KVS Financial, Payroll and Utility Billing systems. Anna recalled that each trainer had his or her own style, but all were pleasant and accommodating, she stated. "There is so much the system can do and I am looking forward to learning that," she said. "It is way beyond the capabilities of EOS."

In the past, she explained, presenting up-to-date, accurate information to the Village Board of Trustees had been a challenge. The KVS Budget Preparation application has made this much simpler. "They didn't feel totally informed with EOS reports, but the KVS reports are nicely presented in a clear, more detailed manner," she said.

Other features of the software which Anna has found especially helpful are within the General Ledger and Accounts Payable applications. "In General Ledger, the immediate posting is great, and with GL reports, I can look at more details and can view them on the screen. With EOS, I had to print everything to see it," she recalled. Anna also mentioned that importing of data from Utility Billing and Payroll into GL is much easier than it had been prior to KVS. "In Accounts Payable, just writing one check is so easy now," she added. "With EOS, I had to do a whole check run."

Although Schuylerville does not have scanning capability right now, they do plan to free up office space by scanning paper documents and storing them electronically within the software, she said. "The scanning of documents feature is going to be great!" she enthused. "We have to set this up but just the fact that you can is wonderful."

Even though she is still familiarizing herself with the KVS applications, Anna said she is pleased with the support services available. Support was a very important factor when considering various vendors for the Village's software upgrade. "Support was lacking at EOS," she stated. "KVS support is there, and that is great."

Many other factors were important when looking at various vendor options, she said, such as cost. "Some companies priced their products higher and were offering much more than we needed," Anna recalled. "KVS was mid-range and, maybe still had a little more than we needed right away, but had the capabilities we needed now, plus when we grow we know the availability is there." Size of the company was another factor. "I liked that is is a smaller, family owned company," she stated. "It feels secure, and that is a feeling we hadn't had for a while." Finally, the product itself was a determining factor. "I liked the product a lot --the way it looked was just appealing to me," Anna added.

"The whole thing is pretty incredible," she asserted. "I feel like my whole life -- my accounting life -- is changed," she said with a laugh. "It can be electronic, where before I just didn't trust it enough!" Anna has already recommended KVS to other municipalities looking to upgrade. "I have looked at many systems and the KVS program was most appealing to me -- it was perfect for us," she said.

KVS made the cut to the final two vendors because it provided the ability to have separate general ledgers, which was a strong concern for the Town's School Business Manager, and because it had already established a presence in Massachusetts, Ernst-Fournier said. "After site visits and reference calls to clients of both vendors, KVS seemed to be more responsive to their clients concerns and needs," she reported.

Perhaps a good example of that responsiveness was KVS's willingness to work with the Town to tailor the software to some of their needs. "Many Massachusetts municipalities use a certain bank to accept online tax payments and KVS communicated with that bank and wrote a report that generates the electronic file that we can then upload to the bank," Ernst-Fournier explained. Another example she cited involved collaboration between Southbridge and KVS on its tax title program. "KVS's software didn't include a tax title program that transferred balances from real estate to tax title until I worked with them to develop one," she recounted. "In addition to having the balances transferred, we can now print the required notices and automatically print the required filing forms."

The Town's conversion to KVS in 2005 was completed in three phases: financials, collection and payroll. "The KVS staff was very responsive and helpful in the conversion reconciliations of the various modules," Ernst-Fournier recalled. "They were onsite for the crucial times and very responsive to our phone calls when they weren't."

As a result of the conversion, Southbridge's departments of Police, Fire Library, Veteran's Agent, Public Works, Inspections, Town Manager, Health Department, Economic Development, Town Clerk, Treasurer/Collector and Town Accountant all enter their own invoices for payment using the KVS Financial Management system. Previously, the Town's financial software was an antiquated DOS based system that had not been updated for many years and had limited decentralization opportunities, Ernst-Fournier explained. "It was difficult to find discrepancies," she recalled about the system. "The reporting capabilities were limited and the report writer was difficult to use even for the most experienced users."

Today, each department in the Town has access to their own accounts for general ledger inquiry and reporting. This has reduced calls to the Town Accountant to find out whether or not a certain bill was paid and for account balances, Ernst-Fournier stated. Payroll data entry is currently being decentralized with eight departments entering their own payroll and the remaining departments being trained as time allows. "Our school department decentralized the entry of requisitions from the first day we started using KVS," she announced. "All schools enter their own requisitions." The whole reconciling process is easier now as well, she said. "The time that I spend reconciling cash, accounts receivables and payroll is far less," she asserted. "Discrepancies are easier to find due to the flexible reports available in KVS."

Ernst-Fournier said she has often recommended KVS to other municipalities and schools. The KVS staff, she said, is always knowledgeable and responsive when the Town calls with an issue. "The majority of the time, when you call KVS support, you receive a live person," she stated. "It's rare that you have to leave a voice mail for someone to call you back, which seems to be the norm with other vendors." Thorough testing makes a big difference she noted. "You don't have to worry about receiving enhancements or fixes that don't work or cause another problem because KVS tests them thoroughly before release," Ernst-Fournier added. "The KVS software is a quality product and the staff is second to none."

The village promoted the new service to taxpayers on its website, in the local newspaper and on its tax bills, according to Bob Fumagalli, Deputy Village Clerk. Mr. Fumagalli stated that the reason the new on-line bill pay service has been so successful is simply the convenience it offers property owners who demand it due to the time constraints in their lives. "The convenience also extends to the village since it allows for a time efficient, cost effective approach to processing tax collection," Fumagalli noted. "More importantly, the advantage goes to the taxpayer who has the choice of when, where, and how they want to pay."

The KVS interface to MuniTrax allows the actual KVS-produced tax bill to be presented and collected over a municipal website. Bills can be paid using an e-check or credit card. There is no cost to municipalities and constituents pay only a small convenience fee when making a payment. Bills may be viewed and printed at no charge 24 hours a day.

The service also offers property owners the opportunity to access their tax statement when taxes are paid by a bank or mortgage company through an escrow account.

Fumagalli said the village looks forward to an increase in the number of users in the future. "The volume will build as more and more residents know about this service," he asserted. "The more on-line services a municipality can provide now and in the future will provide residents with a government that is responsive to their needs and improve the quality of their lives."