The Cutting Edge: Computing / Technology / Innovation : Indianapolis’ City, County Records to Be Available On-Line

Ameritech Information Access will offer on-line access to publicly available municipal information about Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., beginning in September.

Fees for the service, called CivicLink, will be set by the city, and Ameritech will receive a share.

John Hatfield of the Indianapolis mayor’s office said pricing information will be available shortly before the system goes on line.

Accessible by CivicLink will be information on civil lawsuits, marriage records, tax warrants, liens, land titles, permits, and criminal case summaries, events, histories, costs, fines and sentencing. Marion County officials say these areas account for up to 70% of all requests for information.

Ameritech Information Access, formed in March as a venture between Ameritech Corp. and BC Systems of British Columbia, hopes to sign similar contracts with other medium-sized cities and municipalities nationwide, said John Maloney, a company spokesman. CivicLink is AIA’s “first and primary product,” he said.

The agreement with Indianapolis and Marion County is AIA’s first.

Nynex Corp. operates a similar computer system, geared more toward individuals than businesses, in Vermont. VermontNet is less than a year old and has about 600 users. Its basic charges range from $3 to $15 a month. Information services cost extra.

Glen Brandow, a Nynex spokesman, said New Hampshire has shown interest in implementing a similar system.

Daniel Theobald, communications manager at Pacific Bell, said PacBell has no CivicLink-type system but is watching the market.