Rockwall County approves county clerk archive plan, keeps $10 preservation fee after debate

Rockwall County Commissioners on Sept. 23 approved the county clerk's FY2026 archive plan for preservation and restoration of county clerk records and archives, voting 4-1 to retain the $10 record-archive fee.

County Clerk Ms. Fogg presented the plan and told the court the archive and records-management accounts come from filing fees rather than the general taxation process; she warned recent state legislation is shrinking some clerk fee revenue streams and could reduce funds available for future preservation projects.

The clerk outlined several bills that she said affect fees collected in her office, citing Senate Bill 1547' (electronic copy fees), Senate Bill 1760 (guardianship transfer fee reductions), Senate Bill 1537 (interpreter appointment requirements), and House Bills and other measures she said would change collections and effective dates. She said the archive fund balance stood at about $1,856,268.19 (reported as of Aug. 8) and described an agreed contract with an outside vendor, Cofile, for preservation work she estimated at roughly $126,000.

Commissioner Lichty proposed cutting the archival fee from $10 to $5 for FY2026 on grounds the county is accumulating a large balance in the archival account; he said the fund balance indicated the county was collecting substantially more than it currently spends for preservation. That motion died for lack of a second. Commissioner Stacy then moved to approve the archive plan as presented (keeping the $10 fee); Commissioner Gallano seconded, and the measure passed 4-1.

Why it matters: The county clerk's archival and records-management fees pay for document preservation, digitization and rehousing work that the county says would otherwise fall on the general fund. The clerk warned that recent legislative changes to what clerks may charge for electronic copies and other courtroom fees reduce revenue streams and could shift more pressure onto local budgets if state law continues to change.

Details and financials - The clerk described the FY2026 total budget request for her office as about $4,900,000.00. She reported year-to-date expenses of $1,154,122.89 as of Sept. 19, 2025. - Reported fund balances and collections cited by the clerk included: archival fund collected $266,290 and records-management fund collected $269,190 (both reported as $10 fees tied to document recordings and filings). - The clerk said a contract with Cofile covering preservation work was in the plan and estimated it at about $126,000; microfilm digitization work is planned but not yet quoted.

Courtroom exchanges and procedural notes The clerk repeatedly framed the archive and records-management accounts as funds derived from document fees rather than the county's general tax levy; several commissioners and the clerk debated whether those receipts should be called "non-taxpayer funds," with some commissioners pointing out county property owners still ultimately bear the fees and taxes associated with property activity.

The court approved the plan and the $10 archival fee by roll-call shorthand: "It passes 4 to 1." The transcript shows no roll-call naming each commissioner for that vote.

What comes next The clerk said she plans to bring quotes for additional preservation work (microfilm digitization and possible AI-assisted indexing/captioning options) to the court for approval before funds would be spent.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article are limited to court participants recorded in the public transcript.

Ending: The archival plan will move forward with the $10 fee in place; the county clerk and commissioners signaled ongoing attention to how state law changes may shrink fee-derived funds used for records preservation, and the clerk said she plans further procurement work to spend down planned projects in the coming months.