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Cowlitz County auditors report record‑fee hikes, declining document counts and push to digitize records
Summary
County auditor’s office reported rising per‑document fees and falling recording volumes, generating more revenue even as fewer transactions are recorded; staff outlined spending rules for those fees, recent increases in funds routed to homelessness programs and plans to replace antiquated recording software with state scanning help and grants.
COWLITZ COUNTY — County finance staff and an auditor’s office representative reviewed long‑term trends in recording activity and the auditor’s budget, warning that higher per‑document fees have coincided with declining document volumes and prompted questions about consistency and statutory interpretation.
Finance director Sean Roy opened the auditor budget review, saying the auditor’s general fund tax budget is about $11.5 million and year‑to‑date collections stood near $9.9 million with a two‑month accrual. Auditor’s staff then walked commissioners through two decades of recording counts and fee changes.
“Back in 2005, the total number of documents that we recorded in our office was 37,366. The total number of recorded documents that recorded last year, 18,205,” the auditor’s office presenter said, calling out a long‑term decline in…
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