Register of Deeds requests flat 2026 budget, highlights passport revenue and digitization work

Tanya Buckingham, Register of Deeds, introduced Chief Deputy Kenley Ziering to present the office’s 2026 budget. Ziering said the office has 19.5 positions (4 in administration and 15.5 in data) and requested $1,371,063 from the general fund for 2026. Ziering reviewed mandatory duties—recording and verifying real‑estate transactions, redaction to protect citizens’ personal data and preserving records including military discharge papers—and nonmandatory services including a property‑fraud alert program, a veteran/military discount program and passport services. He said passport fees were a nontrivial revenue source: “Last year, we ended up right under a hundred thousand, for passports.” The office reported a recent upgrade to security and public access through its vendor (referred to in the presentation as a Fiddler technologies upgrade) and said opportunities include continued digitization of records and increased community outreach to local cities. Weaknesses include undigitized historical records and equipment failure risk. The office had no decision packages, alternative reductions or revenue packets for 2026; staffing remains at 19.5 FTE.