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Register of Deeds urges change from AIT land-records system, cites recurring errors and ARPA-funded costs
Summary
Carroll County’s Register of Deeds reported persistent problems with the current Applied Intelligence Technologies (AIT) land-records system, outlined past spending (including ARPA funds), and recommended evaluating a return to Fiddler Technologies or other vendors because of ongoing technical and support issues.
Karen Scaramite, Carroll County Register of Deeds, told commissioners April 14 that the county’s current land-records management system, provided by Applied Intelligence Technologies (AIT), has produced recurring and daily operational problems for county staff and title searchers and recommended the county evaluate replacing the system.
Scaramite described multiple operational problems: inconsistent or “capricious” search results where documents appeared and disappeared between searches; slow image retrieval; unintuitive recording and indexing procedures; limited indexing options that do not map cleanly to the county’s existing indexing; and inconsistent technical support and follow-through.
She said the system was funded in 2022 “with ARPA funds” at a cost she described as “a little under $244,000.” She told the commission the ongoing annual costs include a roughly $27,500 fee (described in the packet as a repair/maintenance fee) and web hosting fees that were earlier in the contract at smaller amounts and have since grown, according to her handout. Scaramite said her preference would be to return to the county’s prior vendor, Fiddler Technologies, which she said provides more robust support and broader statewide use by title professionals.
Scaramite told the commission that eight of 10 New Hampshire counties use Fiddler (or its successor) and that Fiddler’s additional features, including a product called Tapestry, produce revenue for counties that can help offset higher annual costs. She said conversion costs might be discounted and that additional revenue from copy fees and subscription features could substantially offset increased annual hosting/support fees.
Commissioners asked questions about the procurement history and whether the county should go to RFP. Scaramite said the last change to the land-records vendor in the county was handled without a broad RFP when the previous register made the contract change; she suggested the commission consider an RFP and evaluate vendors. She said the registry staff and outside users prefer a more predictable, widely used system and asked the commission for direction to explore alternatives.
The commission did not take an immediate vote on vendor changes but directed staff to research options and said they would revisit the item; Scaramite said she would return with recommendations.
