Registering need for employee position

JEFF BRODDLE | CADILLAC NEWS Wexford County Register of Deeds Lorie Sorensen shows the backlog of paperwork waiting to be processed in her office on Monday. She said the stack represents about five weeks worth of work.

CADILLAC - The Wexford County Register of Deeds again is raising the risk of lawsuits because of delays in processing deeds and liens in her office.

Three local title companies say their offices are being affected.

Register Lorie L. Sorensen said her office is five and one-half weeks behind in recording transactions at her office. She said the delay also affects her office's ability to get revenues into the county's general fund.

"This is a direct effect and cause of the reduction in my 2004 budget which resulted in the layoff of one deputy," she wrote in a letter to commissioners dated Friday, Aug. 20. "This delay in the transfer of properties is causing great concern and frustration to our abstractors, title searchers, title insurance companies, attorneys, bankruptcy court, banks, banks with sheriff deeds and the general public."

Sorensen said sheriff deeds - real estate that is turned over to the sheriff's department for sale - by law must be recorded within 21 days. Her office cannot accomplish that at present.

"I don't feel this office has to work nights and weekends," she said. "We're not given any overtime money in our budget."

Her letter asks that her employee, removed during budget cuts last year, be reinstated.

"At this time I ask that you recall the laid off deputy register of deeds employee position, and reinstate this position to a full-time deputy position," she wrote.

Attorney Dave McCurdy, of Lakeside Title Co., said his firm works in six different counties in the area and Wexford County is the only one struggling with delays.

"It's disastrous for doing efficient title work," he said. McCurdy said some contractors are being affected because they come requesting money for work on a new construction projects and his firm can't do any searches of records for liens.

"We can't issue a draw," he said. "Builders have to wait until she gets her records up to date."

At Wexford Title Co., owner Robert Burns calls the situation at the register's office "terrible."

Burns said 10 days ago he was given an order for a $1 million mortgage but because of delays at the register's office he could only certify records until June 1.

"This is August. For two months we don't know what's on the land records," he said.

Sorensen's request for help in her office was last before the county commission's human resources committee in May.

Commission Chairman Gary Gilmore said he's received the letter from Sorensen but hasn't read it yet or reviewed what he might do with it.

"She has gone to human resources and to budget review," he said. "There has not been support."

He said he personally supports her cause for another employee, but he represents just one vote. He said the fact that the office now is five weeks behind deserves attention.

"I'll look at it again," he said, adding he would talk to Administrator Mike Sutter about the issue.

At McDonald Title Agency in Cadillac, Manager Jill Geeseman said her business also has had to work around delays at the register's office.

"We take our deeds up there and it takes quite a while for it to get processed," she said. "It's inconvenient, it's hard to get searches."

Sorensen defends efforts of her staff to try and process the information as quickly as possible. She said statutes dictate how the office processes the incoming material.

"I've changed a few office procedures to facilitate this process so we don't get a mess on our hands," she said.

Information Sorensen supplied to commissioners shows area counties with similar numbers of recordings employ more than the two employees she has in her office. She estimates there will be 15,000 recordings this year in her office or 7,500 recordings per employee.

Antrim, Mecosta and Clare, Charlevoix all boast 2 3/4 to 4 employees in the offices with recordings from 14,500 to 17,000. Sorensen's data puts Wexford County at the top of the list of comparing recordings per employee.

McCurdy said his firm supported fee hikes at the register's office last year because the county said it would result in better service.

"I'm a person who is a good customer of them," he said, adding his firm has not witnessed better service. "It's not working real well."

Burns, who has owned his title company for 40 years and spends a lot of time at the courthouse, said he sees no evidence of shirking going on at Sorensen's office. He said she needs another worker.

"They have got two people plus Lori and they are always working," he said.

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