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Polk County board allows recording fee up to $20 for public land corner preservation
Summary
The Polk County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved staff’s order to allow increasing the Public Land Corner Preservation Fund recording fee from $10 to up to $20 to sustain corner restoration work after fund balances fell amid reduced recordings and the state removal of the $10 cap.
The Polk County Board of Commissioners on April 29 adopted a staff proposal to allow the county to charge up to $20 per recorded land instrument for the Public Land Corner Preservation Fund, a change intended to help sustain restoration of public land survey corners.
Polk County Surveyor Darren Blackwell told the board that the county maintains roughly 3,900 public land corners and more than 2,000 corner records, and that a decline in recordings and growing restoration costs have cut the PLCP surplus. "What I'm proposing is a fee increase from 10 to $20," Blackwell said, noting the $10 statutory cap was removed by House Bill 3175 and that the CPI-adjusted value of $10 from 1987 would be about $29 today.
Why it matters: Polk County uses PLCP funds exclusively for establishing, reestablishing and maintaining government survey corners under ORS chapter 209. Blackwell said the county’s beginning fund balance once topped about $152,000 but had fallen to about $21,000 as of April 15; he estimated the three-year average fully-burdened cost to restore a corner at about $3,300. Recordings fell from around 20,000 in 2021 to roughly 10,000 in 2025, which reduced fee collections tied to property recordings.
Board discussion focused on operations and transparency. Commissioners asked how often the county resorts to single-proportion reestablishments (Blackwell: used only when necessary), how owners are engaged (private surveyors often handle boundary disputes), whether GPS coordinates are recorded (Blackwell: yes when feasible), and how many corners staff can visit per year (recently, roughly 70–79; one exceptional year reached 136).
Public comment and procedure: Staff noted the prepared order allows a fee of up to $20 but that the board could set a lower fee in the annual fee schedule. After the public hearing, Commissioner (S7) moved to adopt staff recommendations and Commissioner (S6) seconded. The board voted by unanimous voice vote to close the hearing and approve the order authorizing a fee up to $20.
Next steps: The order adopted allows the county to include the higher fee in its schedule; commissioners, staff and the surveyor said the board could reduce the fee later if increased recordings restored fund balance. The county’s survey office will continue filing corner restoration reports and making records available through the county GIS site.
