County clerk proposes indexing project for older records; council approves operating budget but declines one-time indexing appropriation

The Los Alamos County Council on April 22 tentatively approved the county clerk's fiscal 2026 operating budget ($1,333,520) but rejected the clerk's optional budget request to hire an outside vendor to index about 144,000 legacy documents.

Clerk Manuel Redondo (identified in the transcript as presenter) told the council the county's records-management system digitized many microfiche images last year but that indexing and redaction remain incomplete for a large backlog of documents recorded before February 2001. He estimated in-house indexing would take "probably closer to the 10 year period" at the current staffing rate and said a vendor RFP produced widely varying costs; one respondent proposed per-keystroke pricing that could approach $1 million, while the clerk suggested a ballpark of $250,000 to $300,000 for a vendor contract.

"At the current rate we're going, I'm expecting it to take between 5 and 10 years, probably closer to the 10 year period," Redondo said. He told council that indexing typically requires capturing grantor/grantee names and legal descriptions and that certain records require redaction of personal data such as Social Security numbers.

Clerk's office election costs: Redondo also explained the budget increase largely reflects additional election-related wages because fiscal year 2026 includes two elections (a local regular election and the federal primary), and because recent statute changes raised daily pay rates for election workers. He said much of election expense is reimbursed by the New Mexico Secretary of State under an MOU and that reimbursements appear in the general fund rather than a separate elections fund.

Council discussion and vote: Councilors asked whether the indexing request should be contracted out or handled in-house with additional casual staff. The clerk said a single 20-hour-per-week casual hire could cut a 10-year timeline to about five years at an estimated annual cost roughly in the $60,000 range; two casual hires might cost about $120,000. After debate, Councilor Reedy moved to tentatively approve the operating budget without the optional indexing appropriation. The motion passed on a roll call, 6-1, with Councilor Hammond opposed. Council later asked staff to place the indexing budget option in the parking lot for further consideration.

Why it matters: Clerk Redondo said indexing older public records would reduce staff time spent responding to requests and make historic deeds, mortgages and other documents searchable by grantor, grantee and legal description. He framed the work as a transparency and customer-service improvement; the council left the final decision for a later date pending cost comparisons, potential use of AI-assisted indexing and the option of hiring additional casual staff.

Ending: Council approved the clerk's operating budget tentatively and asked staff to return with more detailed cost estimates and implementation options (vendor contract vs. in-house casual hires) before deciding whether to fund an immediate indexing contract.