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Recorder of Deeds requests 7.3% budget increase, highlights tech fund and e‑recording growth
Summary
Recorder of Deeds Michael Koszakowski asked County Council on May 8 to approve a FY26 budget of $2,506,140 (a 7.3% increase), citing growing e‑recording use, a technology fund that supports county IT projects and services to help prevent deed fraud.
Michael Koszakowski, New Castle County Recorder of Deeds, presented the Recorder’s FY26 budget request on May 8 and described several technology and customer‑service initiatives the office oversees.
Koszakowski requested a FY26 operating budget of $2,506,140, a 7.3 percent increase over the current fiscal year. He told council the office expects FY25 projected revenue of about $6,368,357 and reported that roughly 65 percent of land-record documents are now recorded electronically. He also described the Community Association Portal (CAP), which launched in October 2023 and has received 352,494 visits, and an AlertMe service that has drawn thousands of subscribers.
The Recorder’s office organizes 23 full-time positions and reported four current vacancies (a 17 percent departmental vacancy rate). Koszakowski described the office’s transition to a SaaS track‑record system to improve backup and cyber resilience, saying the office’s data “will be in 3 safe houses” to preserve operations in case of a major incident.
He summarized technology-fund activity: since inception the Recorder Technology Fund has generated roughly $3.6 million and the technology fund balance was about $252,699 in April 2025; the fund supports county technology initiatives previously approved by council and the county executive. Koszakowski projected about 44,100 documents to be recorded and processed in FY25 and noted that recording revenue this year has been affected by real-estate market trends and higher interest rates.
During Q&A Councilman Street praised the Recorder’s responsiveness and urged continued safeguards against quick‑claim deed fraud; Koszakowski said the office has referred two historical fraud matters to law enforcement and is planning further study of quick‑claim deed controls.
