
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 17, 1994                   TAG: 9404190018
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PAY BY PHONE

THE ARLINGTON County treasurer's office is the third governmental unit in Virginia in the running for an Innovations in State and Local Government Award. That office's accomplishment: an automated bill-paying system called Infobot.

The county bought the system so people seeking building permits could use their computers to set up appointments with an inspector. The county's head of computer services thought he could make the system work for paying tax bills, too. He and the treasurer set up a team that made it happen.

No waiting in long lines to pay personal-property or real-estate taxes in Arlington. Folks can call Infobot and punch in their tax-account number and credit-card number, and the bill is paid. Pain-free. Well, almost.

Arlington already lets residents pay all sorts of bills by phone, but the credit-card numbers are still taken manually. Now the county is buying a new computer system that will enable more automated payments. Utility bills are next.

Computers, of course, are ubiquitous these days. The Arlington treasurer's office is showing how a government agency can use them for the convenience rather than confusion of its clientele.

by CNB