County report card · Kansas
Washington County, Kansas
County portal uses an access restriction which deters automated access but may be bypassed by determined actors
- Population
- 5,572
- Portal
- Assessor & Recorder
- Portal vendor
- Not identified
What the audit checked
Four low-cost protections every online records portal can have. How we rate counties.
- robots.txtYes — permissive
- Terms of useSilent on automation
- Bot challengeAccess denied to automated clients
- Owner notificationUnknown
Portal audited: washington.kansasgov.com/parcel/NCRunLev2.asp, washingtoncountyks.gov/county-clerk/, washingtoncountyks.gov/county-departments/register-of-deeds/document-search/, washingtoncountyks.gov/county-departments/treasurer/tax-infortmation/, tapestry.fidlar.com, www.kansasgis.org/orka/intro.cfm?countyName=Washington
Doing well
- Technical barriers (access_denied) that deter casual bulk access
Room to grow
- Expanding the robots.txt file to disallow automated scrapers
- Updating the Terms of Use to prohibit automated access
What to ask for
Three low-cost steps that have worked in other counties to close gaps like this one:
1. Adding clear robots.txt rules that disallow automated scrapers
2. Updating the Terms of Use to prohibit automated access
3. Implementing a notification system that alerts residents when their records are accessed
The full playbook is What Counties Can Do.