Sears hopes to purchase the scanner within the next couple of years.
“A lot of people think the recorder’s office is a dry job, but the work they put in is invaluable — the recording of all the vital documents in the county,” said Rick Perales, the Greene County Board of Commissioners president. “Eric Sears and his team have done a tremendous job during a fiscally challenging time frame.”
The estimated cost to replace some of the scanners and readers that are half way or at the end of their life cycles is about $99,000, according to estimates the recorder’s office submitted to county commissioners. The estimates doesn’t include the maintenance or software costs.
The county uses the microfilm scanner to meet the state requirement to maintain permanent records, Sears said. Microfilm rolls can be viewed using daylight. A machine is not required, he added.
“That’s the only way we can retain permanent records for disaster recovery in the state of Ohio,” Sears said.
Funding for the scanners and readers would come from a portion of the county’s recording fees, according to Sears. The county charges a $28 basic document recording fee. About $14 of the fee goes to the state, and the other $14 goes to the county general fund. The county sets aside $4 of the $14 collected for the equipment fund for the recorder’s office equipment fund.
State law requires county recorders to submit a plan for needed equipment purchases once every three to five years, according to the county recorder. Sears had to hold off on the purchases included in his 2009 plan when he realized the microfilm center would have to move. It was housed in a building that was condemned in January 2011.
The center relocated in April after the county recorder and auditor offices gave up some space in the building where their offices are located on Greene Street.
“We needed to keep our microfilm center downtown to keep it convenient,” Sears said. “It works with several county agencies.”
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