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Geary County register of deeds reports third‑quarter receipts, outlines tax‑sale and sheriff’s‑deed recording questions
Summary
Register of deeds presented the July–September financial and document counts, noted completion of an older-records imaging project and discussed tax‑sale recording procedures and potential fees for buyers.
Jackie Reisinger, Geary County register of deeds, presented the office’s third‑quarter report at the Geary County Commission meeting and described collections, document counts and outstanding procedural questions about the county’s upcoming tax sale.
Reisinger reported that July–September file fees totaled $73,617 and copy fees (including certain online subscriptions) totaled $4,857. Collections credited to various funds included $10,874 for the registered‑deeds technology fund, $5,437 for the Heritage Trust Fund (which is sent to the state) and $2,718.50 each for the clerk‑tech and treasurer‑tech funds. Reisinger said the total collected across all funds for the quarter was $100,222; $78,474 of that was credited to the county general fund for the quarter.
The office recorded 1,084 documents and 5,543 pages in the third quarter, and Reisinger highlighted that the register’s office processes many document types beyond deeds and mortgages — including 22 death certificates recorded in the quarter. She reported 367 deeds, 268 mortgages, 250 releases and 231 valid sales (the SPQ count). Reisinger also noted the office completed an archival imaging project that uploaded and indexed records from 1980–1987, and said staff are cleaning duplicates from that batch.
Reisinger raised procedural questions about how the county plans to record deeds resulting from the upcoming tax sale. She said at the last tax sale purchasers’ deeds were recorded in small batches; some unsold properties were placed on a single sheriff’s deed and deeded back to the county, a practice the register’s office later concluded “shouldn’t have been done that way.” Reisinger said the sheriff’s office and treasurer will be involved in the process and that the office needs to finalize how to record each winning bid as an individual sheriff’s deed.
The register of deeds and commissioners discussed administrative charges to buyers for recording sheriff’s deeds at the tax sale. Reisinger reviewed the county’s recording fees: a typical two‑page deed records for $38 and a three‑page deed records for $55. She said one option under consideration was charging buyers a fee greater than the $50 previously charged at sealed‑bid sales but likely less than $100; she said final amounts should be coordinated with treasury and the sheriff.
Reisinger also explained how certain fees are remitted to the state: Heritage Trust Fund collections are sent to the state fund and are available for grant requests for historic preservation projects. She said the treasurer’s office maintains quarterly breakdowns and that the county’s share is part of that remittance process.
No formal motions or votes were taken during the report; commissioners asked follow‑up questions about logistics and said staff should coordinate with the sheriff and treasurer to confirm the final recording process and any buyer charges for the upcoming tax sale.
