Upper Macungie Spends $30,000 for a Computer Upgrade

Remember the early days of the computer age when the Internet was known  as the World Wide Web? They do in .

They do because they've been using the same system for about 20 years for billing and property records.

Well, it's now time for a database update and township supervisors have signed off to spend $30,000 for the makeover.

"It's very antiquated," Supervisor Kathy A. Rader said. "The system is getting harder to update. It's something that's desperately needed because we can't add anything more to the system. If it crashes, we're in trouble."

Rader showed off the old system at town hall on Tuesday, saying that it records such information as property ownership, location, account number, tax map, pin number, sewer billing, trash information and a history of what improvements or alterations have been made to a property.

"We needed a program to put in permits, run billing, handle property history and ownership and other items," Rader said.

But don't fret too much if the system crashes. Rader said the township has everything on paper. It would just have to be imputed again.

Township network administrator Karen Loehr was given the task to find a new system. Loehr said she interviewed companies for more than a year before hooking up with Diversified Technology Corp. of Bloomsburg to provide the system.

She said the new database will run parallel to the old system for six months before a switch is made.