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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClerk's OfficeCounty Clerk’s Office Presenter(s): Steve Dennison Jeff Sageser Michael Lui ▪FY23-24 Proposed Budget Presentation Budget Committee Meeting | May 24, 2023 Clerk’s Office Overview A professional, knowledgeable and friendly team that takes pride in its work, providing excellent and timely service to customers while embracing and actively meeting change. Clerk’s Office Overview (cont.) •Archive / Records Center •Recording of Real Property Records •Marriage Licenses •Passport Applications •Deschutes County Business Licenses •Finders Keepers (Finding item valued over $250) •Board of Property Tax Appeals (BOPTA) •Elections and Voting Clerk’s Office Accomplishments •Imported 22 volumes of miscellaneous records dating back to the 1900s. •Migrated the audio tapes of board meeting recordings from the 1970s- 1980s. •Made Commissioners’ Journals available online, including minutes, orders, resolutions and ordinances. •Heavily involved in testing new statewide voter registration system. FY 23-24 Clerk’s Office Budget Details •Accepting passport applications •Issuing marriage licenses •Recording real property transactions •Reimbursement for some election costs 23-24 RESOURCES FY 23-24 Clerk’s Office Budget Details •Personnel •Software and maintenance agreement increases •Paper costs (ballots and envelopes) •Postage for ballot mailings 23-24 REQUIREMENTS FY 23-24 Clerk’s Office Fiscal Issues •Sustained higher interest rates could lead to long-term impact on revenue. •Unknown costs relating to new statewide voter registration system. •Some state legislation, if passed, could have significant long-term financial impact. •The primary revenue source for the Clerk’s Office is recording fees. In FY 2023, recording revenues dropped by 50%. The primary driver for the reduction in revenue has been the recent increases in interest rates. •Cyclical election revenues. Short-term Fiscal Issues Long-term Fiscal Issues FY 23-24 Clerk’s Office Fiscal Issues (cont.) •Recording fees are directly related to the number of pages the County Clerk's Office records. •Mortgage records are the main revenue driver to page count. •As the cost of borrowing money increases due to higher interest rates the Clerk's Office is projecting a 47% decrease in page county year over year. Short-term Fiscal Issues and Long-term Fiscal Issues Continued 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 Total Page Count of Recorded Documents Deeds, Mortgages & Lien Records Current Challenges and Future Initiatives •Work with county to provide solution to space needs for conducting elections safely and securely. •Consideration of subscription based access to real property records online. •Increase voter outreach, education and engagement. •Space needs for elections operations are critically inefficient and pose risks. •Some state legislation, if passed, would have significant impact on how elections are conducted. •Succession planning continues to be reevaluated by the Clerk’s Office Challenges Future Initiatives Thank you We welcome any questions or comments.