Register of Deeds Backlog Eliminated
For Immediate Release
September 15, 1999
For Additional Information Contact:
Daryl Delabbio
County Administrator/Controller
(616) 336-3512
Terri Land
County Clerk
(616) 336-3548
Office of the Administrator
County of Kent
300 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI. 49503-2206
Media News Release
Register of Deeds Backlog Eliminated
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, September 15, 1999 - The Kent County Register of Deeds Office announced today that the backlog in processing deed documents at the County has been eliminated. Through a combination of staff overtime and weekend work, and the hiring of temporary employees from CompuLit, a local computer systems firm, the backlog of 47,800 documents that existed six months ago is gone.
The number of temporary staff in the office, which hit a peak of 22 last spring, has been reduced to four. Overtime and weekend work for all staff has been eliminated. Chief Deputy Register of Deeds, Sonya Dean, credits the hard work of both full-time and temporary staff for the turnaround.
County Clerk/Register of Deeds, Terri Land, notes, "We have been helped by the fact that the average number of documents coming into the office over these six months has been reduced from a high of 1,200 per day back in March, to about 700 per day right now. Of course, no one can predict the level of activity in deeds. It could go up again, or continue to decrease depending on the activity in the real estate market."
County Administrator/Controller, Daryl Delabbio, is pleased by the way the County has met the challenge. "The Board of Commissioners has been very supportive in addressing this problem. They have been willing to consider and support each of the solutions proposed over the last six months."
The County is continuing to seek cost-effective methods to process land records. A staffing study conducted in the Register of Deeds Office and in the County's Property Description and Mapping department has just been completed and will result in recommendations for improving efficiency. In addition, the County is in the process of hiring a consultant to assist it in evaluating the current land records management system, and in recommending workflow improvements and possible technology solutions to improve processing time further.
