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County recorder projects modest revenue growth; push to raise recording fees moves to legislature
Summary
Black Hawk County Recorder reported stable FY26 revenues tied to the housing market and noted an active effort to raise recording fees in Iowa, with a draft bill sent to the Senate; the office also plans records-management spending tied to a new reference system.
L.C.D. Smith, Black Hawk County Recorder, told supervisors that recording revenues depend on the real-estate market and projected a slight revenue uptick for FY26 while noting a statewide legislative effort to raise recording fees.
Smith said, “The draft has been sent to the senate,” referring to an initiative to raise recording fees in Iowa; recorders have not seen a fee increase in more than 40 years. The department did not include hypothetical higher fee revenue in the current FY26 budget but said legislative approval—tentatively targeted for July 1—would materially increase recorder revenues if enacted.
Smith highlighted operational changes tied to a new reference-management system: the office has added electronic image and electronic access fee line items to sell subscriptions for data and images. The department purchased a $55,000 system and elected to amortize payments over three years, producing a projected $17,532 operating expense increase; Smith said county records-management funds (fed by $1 per recorded instrument) could be used to move some costs into the records-management account for digitization and preservation projects.
The Recorder also listed a $5,000 furniture request tied to an IT remodeling of the back room; Smith said storage purchases are needed to retain index books and records moved from the remodeled space.
Supervisors had no substantive objections and asked to be kept informed about the statewide fee initiative and the recorder’s move to sell electronic subscriptions.
