Shawnee County register of deeds highlights record volumes and tech-funded services in 2026 request
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Summary
Registrar of Deeds Becky Niosi told commissioners that her 2026 budget is largely flat except for personnel, highlighted high document volumes (about 24,000 annually), and described how subscriber revenues and a tech fund offset county costs for software and backups.
Registrar of Deeds Becky Niosi told the Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners that her proposed 2026 budget is effectively flat except for personnel costs and totals about $383,000. Niosi said the office currently has four employees plus herself and one vacancy funded from the tech fund.
Niosi emphasized the public-records role of the office and the need for secure, permanent archives. "We have 3 inalienable rights the right to life, liberty and property. And property is very important. It's the key to freedom," she said, explaining why the register of deeds is an elected office and why secure records matter.
Niosi said the office processes roughly 24,000 documents a year (about 8,000 per employee) and that remote-access services generate subscriber revenue. She described three revenue streams from the software platform: a pay-per-use public search ("tapestry"), monthly subscribers (title companies and attorneys, "Laredo"), and monthly data feeds ("Monarch"). Those services, Niosi said, generate about $44,000 in revenue and help offset software and off-site backup costs she listed at roughly $59,000.
Niosi noted the tech fund pays for more than $100,000 in expenses and that excess tech funds transfer to the Land Records Fund, which also covers costs used by other county offices, including the appraiser.
Commissioners asked how the office's per-employee document load compares with other counties; Niosi said Shawnee County's volume is high, with some counties handling about half the per-employee workload. No formal action was taken during the presentation.
