Register of Deeds urges move to Bastion, proposes $10 monthly subscription to cover costs

The Register of Deeds told Strafford County commissioners on Oct. 11 that document volumes are ahead of last year and recommended migrating the county’s records hosting to the Bastion system for stronger security, while proposing a $10-per-month subscription for frequent account users to help cover the extra cost.

The recommendation followed an update from the Register of Deeds that “we're ahead of last year with our numbers” and that all images have been scanned and made available to the public. The register said hardware costs for the current vendor could be reduced from about $24,000 a year to about $18,000 a year under preliminary negotiations, but that moving to Bastion would add roughly $6,000 a year in total hosting costs compared with current replication fees.

Why it matters: the office said the priority is document security and continuity. The register told commissioners that other counties use Bastion and that local IT advised it is “the wave of the future.” She said the county’s current servers will need replacement and that staying on the present platform could delay a future forced migration in the event of a failure.

The register proposed charging account holders for access as one offset. She said the office currently has about 152 active accounts and that a $10 monthly subscription would raise revenue and purge unused accounts; she estimated that if the county had 100 paid accounts it could yield about $12,000 annually. Commissioners discussed using the county’s deed-equipment account — which the register said holds about $77,000 now but will drop by roughly $24,000 at year-end, leaving an estimated balance near $50,000 — to purchase hardware or absorb transition costs. The register noted that statute limits use of that account to capital/equipment, not operating expenses.

Security and statutory rules were raised: the register said Social Security numbers and other sensitive data are redacted according to state statute and that the office already stores scanned images for public access. She also described the vendor relationships (Fiddler and associated services) and that some counties are already on Bastion while a few operate their own systems.

No formal vote was recorded; commissioners signaled support for allowing staff to pursue contract amendment and bring options back to the board. The register said implementing Bastion would likely begin at the start of the calendar year and could require amending the existing vendor contract to include the Bastion pricing and services.

The discussion ended with commissioners and staff agreeing to review budget options and the deed-equipment account before a final decision.