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Commissioners defer plan to give title companies remote access to county records pending legal review
Summary
A plan to let title companies access land tax and property records remotely was paused March 26 after a county attendee raised a legal concern about public access to mine net-profit information; the board said it will not enter contracts until the issue is resolved.
Caribou County commissioners on March 26 heard a proposal to allow title companies remote access to land tax and property records to reduce in-person courthouse requests.
Garn Herrick presented a technical approach for title companies to connect to the county's records system. Clerk Veda Mascarenas proposed that each title company sign a contract with a set fee to access records remotely, arguing such contracts would save employee time.
County attendee Aaron Cook raised a legal problem concerning whether information on net profits of mines should be accessible to the public under the proposed arrangement. Cook's concern prompted the board to withhold entering contracts with title companies until the legal issue is resolved.
Why it matters: remote access could streamline title-company work and reduce courthouse traffic, but unresolved legal questions about what financial data are public could create liability or privacy issues for the county.
What happens next: The board will not enter into contracts with title companies until the county resolves the legal concern about mine net-profit information; no timetable was set at the March 26 meeting.
