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Register of Deeds reports Landshark upgrade, e-recording growth and procedures for Act 235 shielding requests
Summary
The Register of Deeds reported a January upgrade to the Landshark public search system, growing e-recording volumes, new convenience fee revenue for escrow credit-card deposits, and an Act 235 'shielding' procedure implemented April 1 to limit exposure of sensitive address data.
The Register of Deeds presented a quarterly update on recording activity, public search upgrades, program revenue and procedures related to Act 235.
The office upgraded the Landshark public search platform on Jan. 31 to allow a public login for searches and to enable escrow credit-card deposits; the county has collected modest convenience fees from the new capability. Two title companies moved from daily image purchases to a subscription model, increasing monthly revenue. The office recorded 4,179 documents in the quarter (3,345 electronic); staff rejected 596 e-recording submissions for errors and added a new e-recording vendor (Hopdocs LLC).
Vital records processing totaled 1,367 birth, marriage or death applications in the quarter. The genealogy database was updated and a genealogy class is scheduled. Staff scanned military discharge documents into Laserfiche and assisted property owners with title/quitclaim actions on 'slipper' parcels.
Act 235 (judicial privacy) went into effect April 1; the Register of Deeds said the office developed a procedure to shield specified documents and limit certain searchable fields (for example, masking Parcel Identification Number and parts of legal descriptions that could enable locating a private residence). The office awaits public forms from court administrators and has not yet received a shielding request.
The register noted that two title parcels in the tax-foreclosure inventory were located and had taxes paid, yielding a quitclaim deed in one case, and that revenue from surplus property sales processed via Wisconsin Surplus totaled $480,808 for tax-foreclosed parcels sold to date.
