Webster County recorder outlines mostly steady budget and backs proposal to raise recording fee

Courtney Balconendi, Webster County Recorder, presented her office's proposed budget to county officials, saying most lines would remain steady while making modest updates to salaries, benefits and training costs. She also said she supports a proposal to raise the county's document recording fee from $5 to $10 per page, if the measure is enacted next year.

Balconendi said she made few large changes to the budget beyond salary adjustments and that she did not foresee any major expenditures in the coming fiscal year. "I didn't foresee anything in the fiscal year that was gonna be large that required any large changes," she told attendees.

The recorder asked Crystal, a staff member, to explain salary updates. Crystal said the principal salary line remained the same, the deputy salary was adjusted (noting a prior entry around 81% and that "Lisa is at 75"), and two new clerks were budgeted at lower salary lines than predecessors. She also said the county's share for Blue Cross health insurance was updated per each employee's coverage and that the changes were made using the county's Tyler system. "I did that based on our Tyler system," Crystal said.

Balconendi discussed training and conference items: with newer staff, she added funding to send a deputy and a clerk to the Records Deputies Conference and included an additional $125 as a buffer because exact registration costs were not yet announced. She also removed some prior conferences from the proposed budget. "We've been doing the Island Records Deputies Conference for several years now ... so that was just a little extra that was an extra 125," she said, explaining the precautionary adjustment.

On revenue, Balconendi reported that a statewide association is again pursuing an increase in document fees. "We are working to increase document fees from $5 a page to $10 a page," she said, noting the proposal did not pass last year and would not affect the current fiscal year if approved. She offered to share the legislation name and asked colleagues to spread the word and consider support.

Balconendi closed by inviting questions and thanked attendees for their time; no formal action or vote on her budget was recorded during the discussion. She said she would provide the legislation name to the group so they could follow the proposed fee change and support it if desired.