DuPage County recorder objects to proposed shift of document-fee revenue amid budget cuts

Liz Chaplin, the DuPage County recorder, told the county Finance Committee on Oct. 14 that her office has long operated from recording fees and should not have its operating budget shifted into document-storage and GIS special-fee funds now being used to support general government services.

Chaplin spoke during the committee’s budget discussion after presenting financial detail and a statutory interpretation. “Through recording fees, this office has generated enough revenue to operate without relying on a single taxpayer dollar,” she said, arguing the county’s proposed budget would redirect revenue “meant for public record services” into unrelated parts of government and create “the appearance of a shortfall where none truly exists.”

The dispute centers on where employees and routine operating costs should be budgeted. Chaplin told the committee she is seeking to move some staff positions out of special-fee accounts (document storage and GIS) and into the recorder’s general fund so the costs and the work they perform are in the same place. She said her office collected roughly $1.8 million in recording fees this year and that the…