Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Veteran's Committee Considers Upgrade, Easier Benefits Process

The Veteran’s Service Committee has recently looked into a system that could potentially make the process of obtaining benefits easier for military veterans.

“It is a server program which has every form for State and Federal Veteran’s benefits on a computer. It will enable CVSO to process claims in a much more efficient manner. In the same token, you will eliminate a lot of paperwork,” County Veteran’s Service Officer, Ron Scott said.

Once veterans’ records are entered into the system, the program would allow for veterans’ basic information to flow seamlessly into forms at the beginning of the process to save veterans time and potential frustration.

“The more front loading we can do here in the county makes it easier for veterans as they go through the system. If they can come with forms filled out, they’re in a lot better shape than having to show up over in Cheyenne and having to go from office to office. It’s even worse in other places,” Evertson said.

According to Scott, there shouldn’t be any concern by veterans or anyone else using the program about its security.

“What I put in here stays in our secure system. No one has access to them unless I let them. The system has a highly secure user ID and a highly secure password,” Scott said.

The program would have a $599 start up fee for the County of Kimball with the total first year cost of the program being $998 including the yearly fee of $399.

A request was made to the Board of Commissioners by the Veteran’s Committee to have the county’s IT department look over the program to see if it would be fully compatible with the current systems used by the county offices. The request was granted by the Board of Commissioners with further action to be taken upon the IT department’s findings.