HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 08-14-2001 - 8k i
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: August 14, 2001
Action Agenda
Item No. $-
-SUBJECT: Request for Change in Register of Deeds Hours of Operation
DEPARTMENT: Register of Deeds PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
None Joyce Pearson, ext 2676
TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Durham 688-7331
Mebane 336-227-2031
PURPOSE: To consider a request from the Register of Deeds to approve a change in hours
of operation of the Orange County Register of Deeds.
BACKGROUND: With regard to the operating hours of a county register of deeds office,
Chapter 161-8 of the North Carolina General Statutes provides that `The board of county
commissioners may fix by order, to be entered on their records, what days of each week, and at
what hours of each day the register of deeds shall attend at his office in person or by deputy,
and he shall give his attendance accordingly."
Currently the Register of Deeds office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
with the cutoff time for registering instruments at 4:45 p.m. The Register of Deeds requests that
the Orange County Commissioners change the office hours to 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the
cutoff time for registering instruments at 4:30 p.m.
The Register of Deeds office has experienced a steady increase in the volume of documents
presented for registration. The customers in the office requesting service take precedence over
other tasks and paperwork; however, that work must still be done in order to ensure the timely
and accurate registration of all documents. Currently, some work normally done during
business hours is accomplished in the very early morning hours and/or after the office closes.
This change in policy will provide the opportunity for the Register of Deeds, supervisors, and
staff (between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.) to organize unfinished work, prioritize workflow in effort
to ensure that all documents presented for registration on a given day will be recorded by 5:00
p.m. Many days at 4:45 p.m. twenty five to thirty documents are presented for recording and
each must be submitted to Land Records for a PIN (parcel identification number) assignment
before registering. It is impossible to process all of these documents by 5:00 p.m.
2
Although there is currently no case law precedent involving documents registered at times other
than regular business hours, the North Carolina Guidebook for Registers of Deeds strongly
suggests that Registers not record outside of business hours. This element of security and
efficient service to the citizens of Orange County can be preserved by adjusting the operating
hours and cutoff time for registering documents in order to better facilitate the workflow within
the Orange County Register of Deeds office.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no appreciable financial impact associated with the proposed
change in office hours.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the change in
office hours requested by the Register of Deeds to 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, with the cutoff time for registering instruments at 4:30 p.m.