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LaSalle County recorder recommends $100 recording fee; forwards fee study to finance committee
Summary
Recorder Karen Miller presented a cost study recommending higher recording fees and asked the committee to forward a proposed ordinance (standard documents $100; nonstandard $125) to the finance committee. The committee voted to recommend the change to finance; implementation requires further steps at finance and full board.
Karen Miller, LaSalle County recorder, told the Taxes, Election & GIS Committee on Jan. 27 that a Bellwether cost study recommends raising standard recording fees — currently $77–$82 depending on document type — to about $107.6. Miller said she was not recommending the full $107.60 figure and instead urged a single, even standard fee of $100 and a $125 charge for nonstandard documents to simplify billing and cover office costs.
Miller said the county allocates portions of recording fees to multiple funds by statute: the assessor’s GIS fund, a rural housing support fee that goes to the Illinois Department of Revenue, a recorder automation/equipment fund, and the county general fund. She described the split that would result if a $100 standard fee is adopted: approximately $47 to GIS, $27 to the county general fund, $6 to the recorder equipment fund, and smaller statutory amounts to other recipients.
The fee change stems from Jan. 1 state statutory changes requiring simplification of “standard documents” fee schedules. Miller told committee members the recorder’s office had commissioned a cost study covering 2023 activity and that Bellwether’s analysis supported a higher single standard fee to cover operations and GIS costs.
The committee discussed timing and public impact. A county attorney on the call reminded members that the board must find the study justifies any increase and that fee changes require public posting and a 60-day delay after board approval before new rates take effect. Committee members raised concerns about market impacts and the administrative burden of frequent fee changes. Colin Russell of Bruce Harris Associates noted the number of recorded documents has fallen over recent years, saying that lower recording volumes are part of what drives the recommended fee increases.
For the purpose of moving the item forward, a committee member moved to accept Miller’s recommendation and forward it to the finance committee; the motion was seconded by Matt Slater and carried after a voice vote. Committee members were clear the measure now goes to the finance committee for further consideration and to the County Board for final approval; Miller stressed the process would include public posting and statutory waiting periods before any new fee takes effect.
Miller also summarized other recorder functions at the meeting — the office’s back-indexing work, public search subsystems and an Honor Rewards program for veterans — and answered questions about property-fraud-alert sign-ups that the office offers free to residents.
The recorder’s written materials and the Bellwether fee study were provided to committee members and will accompany the proposal to finance; the committee did not set an implementation date. The full board and statutory posting periods must be observed before any new recording fee would become effective.
