Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recording Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chickasaw County recorder proposes flat $10 recording fee to simplify filings
Summary
County Recorder Sheryl Trena asked the board to back a recorders’ association proposal to change recording fees from $7/$5 per page to a flat $10 per page, saying the switch would simplify transactions for attorneys and could raise roughly $11,220 for the county if enacted.
County Recorder Sheryl Trena asked the board to support a proposal from the recorders' association to replace the current $7 first-page/$5 second-page recording schedule with a flat $10 per page fee.
Trena said the change would simplify billing for attorneys and clerks and reflected current document lengths: "Iowa Land Records . . . average all the county's documents between 4 and 4 and a half pages on average," she said, adding that moving to a flat $10 per page would be simpler "when attorneys bring deeds in." She estimated the change would increase county recording fee revenue by about $11,220 if the bill passes.
Trena noted recording fees have not been raised in four years and said the association is working to draft and send legislation to the statehouse. She described the recorder's office workload and services — vital records, hunting and fishing licenses, vehicle-related tax collections through the Department of Revenue, and online access via Iowa Land Records — to explain why she considers the adjustment warranted.
Board members asked about office staffing; Trena said the recorder's office has two people (the recorder and one deputy) and compared staffing to neighboring counties when answering questions about workload and revenue generation.
Next steps: the recorders' association is pursuing a legislative change; the board did not take a formal vote on the proposal during this meeting and will consider the request as part of ongoing budget and legislative discussions.
