At a county budget review, a county staff member raised concerns that funds associated with the Register of Deeds have dwindled and cautioned against relying on them for ongoing operating expenses.
The point matters because Register of Deeds funds are subject to statutory or administrative limits on use; if the fund balance is low, routine office needs and modernization work may require other budget sources.
“We have we have no money. We take everything from the register of deeds out of the register of deeds funds, so we have no budget for anything expense wise for the registered needs,” Speaker 4 said. The speaker also said the office recently paid a large bill and that the average annual incoming amount is about $28,000.
The same staff member said they had printed “the law” governing use of register-of-deeds and combined-office funds and said the statute (not cited by number in the transcript) pertains to modernization and the combined office. “I printed off the the law, and I it's for the use of the registered deeds and the combined office. That's it. It's for the modernization,” Speaker 4 said.
Staff described operational steps tied to a pending relocation: desks are scheduled for delivery on Aug. 8 and the office added $1,200 to an office-equipment line to cover unplanned costs related to the move. The speaker also said the office has been operating with only two people and that cross-training was planned but delayed by new laws and tight time restraints on the assessor’s office.
Employees’ health-insurance costs were discussed: staff reported that some routine tests and prescriptions that had been a modest out-of-pocket cost are now substantially more expensive, and one speaker said a prescription was not covered and had to be paid in full. “Insurance didn't cover the prescription at all. So we paid full price,” Speaker 4 said.
No formal budget action or motion was recorded during the exchange in the transcript; staff flagged funding limits and operational pressures for future planning.