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Register of Deeds gets board approval for $35 retrieval fee after staff warns of heavy demand
Summary
The Board approved a $35 fee for electronic retrieval of old film documents requested by title companies after the Register of Deeds said staff cannot keep up with the workload caused by remote title‑plant requests and incomplete digitization.
Van Buren County commissioners voted to approve a $35 retrieval fee for the Register of Deeds on July 8 after a detailed presentation on workload and digitization limits.
Paul Leona, Register of Deeds, told the board that remote title companies increasingly request scanned copies of older documents that exist only on film and that county staff are now doing the work previously handled by title companies. “We just can’t handle the workload anymore,” Leona said. “We will get requests for these copies at 03:00 in the morning... and when we get there in the morning.”
Leona outlined the steps required to process old film searches and said the office’s small staff cannot absorb the demand without compensation or more digitization. He and staff estimated the typical search requires roughly 30 minutes of staff time and that full cost recovery would be higher than the board‑recommended charge; the office recommended a fee to offset staff costs while the county pursues larger digitization projects.
Commissioners debated the appropriate amount; one commissioner suggested $50 as closer to the estimated cost, while others raised the possibility that title companies would simply absorb or pass on the fee. After discussion, the board approved a compromise of $35 per retrieval, with the revenue to be deposited to the county general fund. The transcript records the motion, a second and the clerk announcing “All those in favor…Motion carried.”
Leona said the registry will continue digitization efforts to reduce future demand for manual film searches and that he planned to return to the board if the volume or cost calculations change.
