Plans for a permanent home for the Hamilton County Register of Deeds satellite office are on hold for the moment.
The primary duty of the register's office is to record deeds and other legal documents.
Register of Deeds Pam Hurst included $400,000 for the cost of the new building in her 2010-11 budget request, but the county left it out of the final spending plan.
The building always was planned to be financed through data processing fees, Hurst said. The county charges $2 per recorded document.
Assistant County Auditor Lee Brouner said that, in fiscal 2009, the Register's Office took in $120,970 in data processing fees. As of June 30, 2009, the Register had about $426,000 in unspent data processing fees that could go toward the new building.
"It fluctuates every month, depending on how many documents we record," she said.
County Administrator of Finance Louis Wright said Hurst did not have to include the $400,000 in her budget request because it could be approved by commissioners with a resolution.
"It was just her way of getting it out in front of them, reminding them she would still like to do that," Wright said.
Hurst said a permanent satellite office will save taxpayers money long-term because the county would no longer have to lease space at the Bonny Oaks government complex, where the satellite office is now located. She said the county spent $240,000 on rent from 2001 to 2011.
Hurst said there are several spots near Bonny Oaks where the building could go, but she hasn't settled on a site.
"The commission has a say in all of that," she said.
The cost of the building became an issue when Hurst's Democratic opponent in the Aug. 5 election, Jeff Brown, said it was a waste of money. Hurst won re-election.
At this point, the new building is "just an idea," Hurst said, and she wants to make sure the county's new trustee, Bill Hullander, is on board with the project because the trustee's satellite office shares space with the register's.
The trustee is the county's property tax collector.
Hullander said he wants to move slowly. He said the only reason he needs a satellite office is for people older than 65 applying for property tax refunds. But that doesn't mean they need to hurry the new building.
"We need to hold up on that," Hullander said. "I don't need to be rushing in and building a new building."
Commission Chairman Fred Skillern said he's always supported the new office, but the issue will likely wait "several weeks" after the county commission seats its four new members. Three will be seated Sept. 1, but the District 8 representative, Tim Boyd, will be seated today to give the district representation when the commission passes its budget.
"I always supported it, but I was in the minority," he said.
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