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Shelby County Register of Deeds seeks two staffers, expanded fraud-alert outreach and archives support
Summary
Register of Deeds Willie Brooks Jr. requested two additional positions for archives and deeds operations, described an expanding fraud-alert mobile app with 30,000 enrollees, and warned of a growing archives workload and material-cost increases.
Shelby County Register of Deeds Willie Brooks Jr. told the county budget subcommittee his office needs two additional positions to address an archives backlog and to stabilize deeds processing work, and he outlined the office's fraud-alert program and scanning operations.
"We currently received a grant from the state for $4,700 that we will be coming before the commission to to receive it for the purpose of reimbursing of supplies, for the archives department," Register Brooks said, and he said the archives building houses permanent county records dating back to 1819.
Brooks and Cheryl Floyd, the register's CAO, described a three-location operation (downtown, Whitehaven/White Haven, and an archives facility) and said the office scanned more than one million images in 2024. They told commissioners that the archives team is small'three archivists/specialists plus two temporary employees'and that the office has a backlog of requests that is straining staff capacity.
Brooks and Floyd asked for two positions: one archive deeds technician and one senior deeds operations clerk. Floyd said the two requested positions would total roughly $213,000 for FY2026 and characterized the request as primarily driven by staffing and training needs; the presentation also cited a PCB/fringe figure of $175,771 for the requested positions.
The register described the office's fraud-alert program and mobile app, which the office said began with roughly 7,000 enrollees and now has about 30,000. The program notifies enrolled property owners if a recorded transaction occurs and provides a 24-hour window to respond; the register said the office recovered roughly $2.6 million in collections through targeted personal-property audits in past years.
Brooks warned that archival supply costs are rising: he said the per-roll cost for archival film rose from $18 in May 2024 to $24 in December 2024 and that the office processes roughly four film rolls per workday, a pace that creates annual material expense pressures.
Commissioners suggested volunteer recruitment (including retired teachers and history volunteers) and coordination with the trustee's mailings and community outreach to increase fraud-alert enrollment; Brooks said the office is pursuing expanded outreach in churches and community events and would work with the trustee on possible insertions if the trustee agrees.
Brooks closed by saying enterprise content management and a public-records commission process are being used to evaluate long-term records retention, and he said a request for additional staffing and resources will be brought forward to the commission for formal consideration.
