As a non-profit real estate holding company, the Charlotte Housing Authority (CHA) has a mission to serve families of Charlotte, N.C., for whom conventional housing is unaffordable. The authority comprises several departments with various responsibilities, all languishing with massive amounts of paper documents and processes. Real Estate Development and Section 8 Housing departments in particular were having difficulty with storage and retrieval of documents.
Therefore, the CHA decided to purchase an information management solution; one of the main reasons was for storage purposes. They were running out of room to file paper documents. More importantly, they wanted to make document retrieval and review easy for employees who did not have immediate access to the files. This could eliminate the cumbersome task of the file clerks physically pulling folders and checking them out and back in. With four additional departments including Modernization, Accounting, Procurement, and the Executive Committee needing a solution to their paper nightmare as well, CHA decided it was time to find an affordable and comprehensive solution.
To settle this dilemma, CHA's IT department tapped its long-time associate and solution partner, BankSys Management Inc. (BMI) of Duluth, Ga. BMI is an Authorized FileVision Reseller. Although
the non-profit agency looked at several other systems, six out of seven departments within CHA chose FileVision over competing solutions.
"Employees liked the graphical interface and could easily identify with how the FileVision filing structure is set up to look like an actual filing cabinet, drawer and folder," says Ralph Vestuti, director of IT for CHA.
The CHA Real Estate Development Group develops and acquires quality, affordable housing to promote economic growth. The department focuses on mixed income communities that include public housing units. They also expand the pool of developers and funding sources available to CHA for future projects.
FileVision is currently helping the Real Estate Development Group to electronically manage grant applications and approvals, signed agreements, contracts, HUD approvals and correspondence.
"Before FileVision, my job was really hectic because we were running out of room and space for paper filing," says Deborah Williams, administrative assistant, CHA Real Estate Development Group, "FileVision has changed things for the better. We very easily set up the system to work the way we were already accustomed to. We didn't have to change what was working for us. We've simply improved it."
In addition to the room full of filing cabinets, Real Estate Development was keeping large binders for closing documents and finance evidentiary proposals. They have now scanned those files and eliminated the binders as well.
Other departments within CHA, such as those who handle Section 8 housing applications, need access to documents developed and managed by the Real Estate Group, and now they can pull those documents up electronically from their desktops. Note that FileVision security rights and privileges can be easily administered from the department level all the way down to the document and annotation layer.
CHA Housing Specialists in the Section 8 Housing Department use FileVision to handle the screening and approval of Section 8 applicants. Documents include proof of identification such as driver's licenses and social security cards, interview notes, along with applications, landlord approvals and HUD documents. CHA's Section 8 department was suffering from the same issues as the Real Estate Development Group. They were running out of room to file. In addition, process management and file retrieval were cumbersome and time-consuming.
"I like FileVision because it has made me more productive. If I, or one of the housing specialists, have to retrieve a file, we simply type in the applicant name and all of the documents and information are right there on our computer screens," says Jamila Davis, a Section 8 clerk at the CHA. "There's no need to make any additional trips back and forth to the filing cabinets."
Therefore, the CHA decided to purchase an information management solution; one of the main reasons was for storage purposes. They were running out of room to file paper documents. More importantly, they wanted to make document retrieval and review easy for employees who did not have immediate access to the files. This could eliminate the cumbersome task of the file clerks physically pulling folders and checking them out and back in. With four additional departments including Modernization, Accounting, Procurement, and the Executive Committee needing a solution to their paper nightmare as well, CHA decided it was time to find an affordable and comprehensive solution.
To settle this dilemma, CHA's IT department tapped its long-time associate and solution partner, 
