Harvey County Register of Deeds Raquel Langley told the Board of Commissioners on May 28 that real‑estate filings and fee revenue are up year‑to‑date, but she raised concerns about statutory duties that require recording documents that may later be shown to be fraudulent.

Langley said filings associated with new residential development are driving revenues: "For the five months we've already managed to accumulate $141,859.50… last year we did a total of $351,022," she said, noting the current year is on track but dependent on market conditions. She said new plats and multi‑family construction in local subdivisions are increasing workload and public research demand in her office.

On public access and records management, Langley said documents back to 2018 are searchable online but older paper indexes are maintained in climate‑controlled binders. She said the office is considering system upgrades to make indexes searchable by computer and to provide public research terminals; one practical motivation is reducing wear on heavy bound volumes that have been damaged by researchers.

Langley described a case in which she had suspected fraudulent activity and followed statutory duties to record a document that later proved problematic. "When a document comes into my office, I have what we call the four corners. If it meets those requirements, I have to by statute record it. I cannot reject it," she said. "It is recorded when it's brought in." She told commissioners that this statutory requirement makes it difficult to prevent fraud via recording alone and said she and county registers have raised the issue with their statewide association and legislators. "I wish they would approach that in legislature and make that a little bit different," she said.

Langley also described operational budget details: she plans to hold overall expenditures flat while shifting line items to cover higher equipment maintenance (copier for researchers) and tech fund costs (off‑site archival storage at the salt mines). She said a background‑check line item had an unusual expense in 2024 but is normally zero. She also asked for flexibility to upgrade systems and public terminals if funding allows.

Commissioners asked about storage costs and whether records will be all electronic; Langley said some counterparts e‑record and put records online but that she is cautious about putting signatures online for privacy and fraud reasons. She said the office requires researchers to sign an open records request indicating they will not resell information. Langley urged state lawmakers to consider statutory reform so registers could withhold suspect documents for investigation without being forced to record them immediately.

Langley concluded that her office is busy but handling the workload and that technological upgrades could reduce physical binder wear and make public research more efficient.