Ottawa County Recorder Nathan Daniels is working to digitize the records in his office, which date back to 1826. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

Ottawa County Recorder Nathan Daniels describes himself as “the record keeper for property transfers in the county.” It would be safe to say that he is also a money-saver for the county. When state legislation was passed requiring county recorders to digitize records, he found a way to comply with the regulation while saving the county nearly a half million dollars. His next project is to fight to keep county money generated in his office where it belongs – in the county.

Senate Bill 94 requires county recorders to scan documents into their computer systems from 1980 to the present. The project is time and labor-intensive, requiring a page-by-page scan of thousands of pages of information.

Deputy Recorder Amanda Hatt scans a document in the Ottawa County Recorder’s Office on Nov. 5. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Although Daniels was only required to digitize documents from 1980 on, he recognized the value in accessibility to documents from all years. His office maintains records from 1826 to the present.

“A lot of recorders were shocked because we go so far back,” Daniels said. “We’ll keep doing it until we get to volume one.”

Daniels made the decision to complete the digitization project in-house, which saved the county about $450,000. He and his staff of three are doing all the work in his office.

The records in the Ottawa County Recorder’s Office go back to 1826, including this mortgage record from 1872. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“I could have contracted this out,” he said. “With the housing market slowing down, I thought the four of us could handle this. By doing the work ourselves, we saved the county $450,000.”

Daniels is one of Ohio’s few county recorders who is also putting images of documents online for easy access.

“You can access it from your house, but I have to put a watermark on it by law. If you want an original copy, you can come in and purchase one for 25 cents, or we can email it to you for $2,” he said.

Visitors to the Ottawa County Recorder’s Office often ask to see plat maps, like this map of Middle Bass Island. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Daniels said visitors stop into his office looking for many different types of information.

“They come for deeds, mortgages, plat maps of subdivisions and condos. Some are here for genealogy,” he said. “People come to prove they own a property or to make sure there is a clear chain of title.”

While Daniels is saving the county money through the digitization project, he is also working to protect county money generated in his office. As of now, 50% of fees paid to the Recorder’s Office are required by law to be sent to the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, which, according to the Ohio Department of Development website, “provides affordable housing opportunities, expands housing services, and improves housing conditions for low-income Ohioans and families.”

Ottawa County Recorder Nathan Daniels is collaborating with other county recorders across the state to encourage legislative changes regarding the use of money generated in recorders’ offices. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

Daniels said county recorders across the state are unhappy with the fund because the money doesn’t remain in the county where the funds are generated. The lack of affordable housing is a problem impacting residents across Ottawa County, and Daniels would like money generated in the county to address housing issues here.

Add the housing fund payments to other state requirements, and 99% of all Recorder’s Office fees go to the state.

“Only 1% stays in the county,” Daniels said.

Daniels is working with other county recorders across the state to address the issue legislatively.

“All recorders, regardless of party, are not happy about this because there’s no way for us to know where the money is actually going. We prefer it stay in our own county,” he said.