Merrimack County register proposes end to $40 monthly subscription, seeks vendor change for better public access

Samantha, Merrimack County Register of Deeds, proposed eliminating the office’s $40 monthly subscription fee for online document access and replacing per-document online charges with a per-page rate to align online costs with in‑office copy pricing.

Samantha said the change would remove the monthly subscription and provide free public viewing while switching online copy charges from a per-document to a per-page model. "I promised my constituents that I would eliminate the $40 monthly subscription fee," she told the commissioners, and said she collected 12 months of transaction data to model the change.

The register presented three charts: historical transactions; a model of proposed fee changes; and a software-lease comparison. Under Samantha’s proposal, eliminating the $40 monthly subscription would reduce subscription revenue by $35,935 annually. Converting online copies from a per-document rate to $2 per page (matching current in‑office per‑page practice) would increase revenue; Samantha estimated a net annual increase of about $26,976 after also reducing the in‑office per‑page price from $2 to $1 to encourage in‑person visits.

Samantha said the county’s current vendor, Landmark, provides the existing service and that she is discussing contract changes with Landmark’s vice president; she also said the county has received proposals from other vendors, including Fiddler. She described Fiddler’s advantages as phone support for customers and more detailed reporting, saying, "Fiddler... offer[s] phone support" and that its reporting could generate document‑type breakdowns the office cannot readily produce now.

Commissioners and others asked how Merrimack County compares with other counties. Samantha said most counties allow free image viewing online; she said the county is currently unique in charging for viewing and that she has not found comparable data collected in prior years. On the vendor contract, she said the county operates under a two‑year lease with Landmark and that notice requirements and potential penalties depend on the contract: "we would need to prove that they were in breach of contract," she said, adding that she has been communicating with Landmark about possible changes.

Samantha said she will return with more detailed information at the next meeting, including proposals from Fiddler and other vendors and an update from Landmark. She proposed collecting another 12 months of data if the per-page trial proceeds. Commissioners did not vote on fees or a vendor change at this meeting; Samantha said implementation timing would consider subscribers who prepay and that refunds could be issued if appropriate.

The register’s recommendation: staff to continue contract discussions with Landmark, evaluate proposals from Fiddler and other vendors, and return with an informational update and any formal recommendations at a future meeting.