The County Land Record Information System, Electronic Services Coordinating Committee, and the Iowa County Recorders Association delivered a report to the General Assembly on the status of the Iowa Land Records internet service. The report is here: Legislative Report Final. The appendices are here: Legislative Report Appendix Final. The following is quoted from the “Executive Summary”:
The key findings and conclusions which may be summarized from the report are as follows:
- The comprehensive redaction project authorized by the General Assembly has been carried out as proposed and within the authorized budget. Eighty-five percent of the more than 11.5 million
documents have been processed, and the remainder will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2012.- Registered users of the Iowa Land Records web site can again access more than 6.2 million documents recorded since 2003.
- More documents will be made accessible following the completion of various quality assurance activities, because commercial redaction services are not perfect. A redaction accuracy rate of 97% is expected. Registered users have been enlisted to help report any private information which may have been missed by the redaction process.
- The county land record information system has been reconfigured to segregate and prevent the disclosure of private information. Additional security measures have been implemented to monitor the activity of registered users who have access to document images.
- Financial resources for the redaction project and funding for the core operation of the county land record information system have been appropriately managed. The ESS Coordinating Committee has provided active oversight for all project resources, and the business of the Electronic Services System has been transparent and open.
- Financial transactions have been subjected to an annual audit since the beginning of the Iowa Land Records E-Submission service (electronic recording). The audit includes all physical assets such as the servers and data storage equipment used to operate the system.
- Project resources are being managed to provide for long-term sustainability for the county land record information system. However, substantial risks exist including concerns about funding for county system maintenance fees.
- The adoption of a permanent $2.00 document fee structure would ensure long-term sustainability, reduce the financial burden on individual county budgets, and permit improved service and lower service fees for electronic recording.
- The State of Iowa and Iowa County Recorders are recognized as national leaders in the adoption of electronic document management systems.
- The Electronic Services System and the county land record information system are committed to the principles of adopting standards, policies and procedures to ensure consistent and high quality services throughout Iowa.
- The enforcement of standards, policies and procedures, including a requirement for participation by all Iowa counties will be an ongoing challenge for a system dependent on the cooperation of many individual County Officials and technical service providers. The General Assembly may wish to reinforce the importance of participating in a statewide system and following established policies and best practices.
- Current policies governing the batch transfer of electronic documents may create unintended outcomes as County Recorders and their customers seek to exchange information in a timely fashion while also conforming to expected privacy standards. The General Assembly may wish to examine these policies.
The General Assembly has explicitly requested an analysis and recommendation regarding the continuance or discontinuance of the fee collected under section 331.604, subsection 3. The recommendation to the General Assembly is as follows.
- Continue the base level $1.00 electronic transaction fee under section 331.604, subsection 3. This fee is the minimum level of financial support required to sustain the core services of the county land record information system.
- Consider increasing the electronic transaction fee to $2.00 to ensure the long-term sustainability of the county land record information system and to provide necessary resources for ongoing system enhancements. A comparison of recording fees with neighboring states shows that Iowa recording fees would remain among the lowest – notwithstanding a $1.00 fee adjustment.
The ESS Coordinating Committee and the Iowa County Recorders Association wish to express appreciation to the Iowa General Assembly for the passage of Senate File 465 in 2009, and for the opportunity to carry out the redaction project while restoring an important service to the Iowa real estate industry.
