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Emery County commission directs staff to study separating treasurer and recorder after recorder cites surge in recorded documents
Summary
Commissioners on Jan. 21 voted to begin the statutory research and timetable assessment needed to separate the combined treasurer/recorder office after the recorder described record volumes that have strained current staff capacity.
The Emery County Commission voted on Jan. 21 to begin the process of studying separation of the treasurer and recorder offices, directing staff to research the legal steps, timeline and costs required to create two distinct offices.
Commissioners said the study is intended to identify whether separation must wait for an election or can be handled administratively and what staffing or budget changes would be required. The vote followed extended discussion about workloads in the recorder’s office.
The county recorder (name not specified in the transcript) told commissioners that the office has seen a marked increase in recorded transactions in recent years. The recorder said a single land donation approval in December generated nearly 600 recorded documents and required dividing a roughly 135‑acre tract into roughly 270 half‑acre parcels; the office also handled large subdivisions and complex metes‑and‑bounds descriptions that increase review time. The recorder explained that many recording tasks require specialized review and that the reviewer function creates a bottleneck because the recorder must ultimately review and approve legal conveyance descriptions.
Commissioners discussed options including hiring additional staff versus restoring an elected recorder position. County staff advised that separation may require an election cycle and that the commission should consult the relevant code sections to determine whether appointments are permissible in the interim. The commission passed a motion to begin the process of researching statutory requirements and timetables, and asked staff to report back with options and estimated costs.
No immediate change to office staffing or structure was implemented; staff were assigned to return with legal analysis and implementation scenarios for the commission to consider.
