1. What are your qualifications and why are you running for this office?
I am proud to say I have over 20 years of employment in county government. It has gone from a part time job I had during college to a career I love. I love the people of Brown County and enjoy working with them. I have served two terms as Brown County Treasurer and I am in my 4th year as the current Brown County Recorder. The recorders office has furthered my education in the workings of county government.
2. What are the biggest challenges for the Recorder's office and how would you address these?
The biggest challenge for the recorder's office is to continue the work of getting all old recorded documents from 1873 forward organized, indexed, and digitized so they are available to the public online. We are currently back more than 50 years, which is a big milestone. It helps title searchers and the general public search without the need to make a physical trip to the office. This project was started before I became recorder and will continue on after I am out of office.
3. Briefly describe the Recorder responsibilities and how it benefits to the community.
The county recorder function is to maintain permanent public records involving a wide variety of instruments. These documents detail transactions involved in: real estate, mining, personal property, mortgages, liens, leases, subdivision plats, military discharges, personal bonds, etc. {IC 36-2-11-8}. Generally, all of these instruments are recorded either for giving legal public notice of their existence or for safekeeping and future reference.
The recorder is also a member of the county commission on public records, which has the authority over the preservation or disposition of all public records maintained by the county. {IC 5-15-6}.”