Title
Recorder-Clerk recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign a Letter of Support for Assembly Bill 1430 (Bennett).
FUNDING: N/A
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
The legally established base fee for document recording and indexing every instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law at the County Recorder's office was last adjusted in 2010. When established, that fee was intended as a fee for service to cover the cost of the recording function at no additional expense to a county's net county cost.
Recording fees have not been aligned to inflationary factors or the state's minimum wage increases, creating significant budget challenges for some counties, where support to maintain the recording function is now being augmented from county general funds and, thus, competing with funding required for other essential public services like public safety, public health, and general county administration.
Currently the El Dorado County Recorder-Clerk's office is not a general fund supported department. The office is funded by recording revenue and restricted revenue funds. Use of restricted revenue is limited by statute. As other costs of doing business have increased, our fees remain unchanged.
Absent an adjustment, the ability to provide services, retain an adequate, trained workforce, and maintain standards for timeliness and quality are at risk. Already, California counties are facing staff reduction directly resulting from the inadequate funding of the recorder function. Other counties have been forced to decrease hours available for public counter recording and closure of satellite offices due to revenue and staff decreases. These impacts have downstream impacts on the state's economic recovery if real estate transactions are not timely and properly added to the public record.
The County Recorders' Association of California is advancing AB 1430 (Bennett) for fee stabilization and is seeking the advocacy support fr...
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