Polk County recorder projects revenue gains, asks board to back state fee bill

Julie Haggerty, Polk County’s elected recorder, told the board her office plays a central role in real estate and vital records filings and that about 70% of transactions are now submitted electronically. She reported current fiscal-year revenue at $3,315,000 and projected $3,429,000 based on an 11% increase in first-quarter filings.

Haggerty said the recorder’s office met the countywide 1% reduction target (about $24,000) by trimming base expenses and reallocating a technology-systems specialist salary into the records management fund (Fund 21). She said expense requests rose by approximately $77,000 in the request year, mostly because 93% of the office budget is personal services.

To guard against property fraud, Haggerty said her office installed property-check software that alerts individuals if a recording appears under their name; the service is free to sign up and provides name-based alerts. She also noted expanded passport appointment capacity to help constituents avoid long waits at the post office; passport processing times are governed by the U.S. State Department and remain about six weeks.

Haggerty urged the board to support a statewide recorder modernization bill that would increase user fees; she said the bill could raise Polk County revenues by about $725,000 per year based on 2023 filings. She asked the board to back the proposal and pursue grant options to digitize pre-1992 records for public access.

County Administrator Frank told the board Recorder Haggerty generates revenue that offsets costs, that the recorder met the 1% reduction without increasing net tax impact, and he recommended the recorder’s budget as presented. No formal vote was taken at the hearing.