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Register says vendor misplaced 94-page index; board accepts restitution for missing pages
Summary
Register of Deeds Ben Curtis told commissioners that vendor Kofile reported a 94-page index missing after records were sent for preservation. Kofile offered to recreate the index at no cost and applied a 20% discount to the order; the board accepted restitution for the missing pages and agreed to consider the vendor discount during the regular budget process.
Register of Deeds Ben Curtis briefed the board on a records-preservation contract with vendor Kofile and a subsequent loss of an index book of 94 pages from material sent for conservation.
Curtis said the original source volumes remained in county custody and that Kofile had offered to recreate the missing 94-page index at no cost and to apply a 20% discount to the order that included the missing book. Curtis described the original order cost as $43,329.50 and said a 20% discount on that order would equal $8,473.30; Kofile also offered a 20% discount on future orders up to $100,000. Curtis said the register’s office had checked for digital copies at the North Carolina Archives and with the county’s vendor but none existed.
Curtis told the board he visited Kofile’s Greensboro facility and reviewed safeguards and the tracking process; he also outlined larger preservation needs for county records, including two plat cabinet upgrades (~$120,000), full preservation of 267 vault books (~$722,783) and 217 photostat books (~$162,715). He emphasized that preservation funds come from fees in the Register’s automation and preservation fund, not county tax dollars.
A Kofile representative described steps taken to strengthen chain-of-custody procedures and said the company continued searching other facilities. Commissioners asked for comparative bids and for the county manager to confirm procurement rules for service contracts above the county’s threshold. County Manager Lance Messler said the board could consider spreading preservation work across budget years.
Commissioner Richardson moved to accept the restitution offer limited to recreating the 94 missing pages and to address the vendor’s 20% discount as part of the regular budget process; Commissioner Cowen seconded. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.
The board did not approve a long-term preservation contract at this meeting; commissioners asked staff to follow procurement rules and to bring additional comparative cost information to the budget process.
