Register of Deeds fires back with facts

Not so fast, says Brenda Bell.

The current Register of Deeds, in a phone conversation with the Report this morning, responded to allegations by her Republican challenger, Matt McCall, that she hasn't been proactive in redacting private information from public documents on the Internet (http://thegattonreport.blogspot.com/2010/09/identity-theft-made-easy-in-iredell.html).

As a matter of fact, Bell said, the county has approved funding for the redaction services, and the company that will help has already been hired and paid. "I requested money in this year’s budget to be able to do this project," she said in a press release issued earlier today. "The work has been in progress for several months."

Bell said she has been on top of this issue at least since the N.C. Identity Protection Act was passed in 2005. At that time, private information could be removed from online public records only per a citizen's written request. When the law became effective, Bell said, the Register of Deeds office "put this information out to the public" and also placed an announcement on the Register of Deeds webpage. The website also contains the form for a citizen to request that his or her social-security/drivers' license numbers be removed from the online records. (Go to http://www.co.iredell.nc.us/departments/regdeeds/register.asp then click on "Online Records Search" in the links to the right).

In the past five years, only 18 people have requested to have their personal information removed from the online public documents, Bell said.

The Act was amended in October 2009, giving registers of deeds discretion to scrub personal identifying information from public records on the Internet without a citizen's request.

McCall, Bell's opponent, said the current Register of Deeds "has taken no proactive measures to redact the social-security numbers." He said that he had spoken with Iredell County Manager Joel Mashburn who said that he could not recall Bell approaching the county about appropriating money to have the sensitive information removed from the online public documents.

In an e-mail to the Report yesterday, Mashburn confirmed that he had spoken with McCall. "I did say that I did not recall but that did not mean it did not happen," Mashburn said. "I further stated that I would be glad to review the budget request as far back as I have them to see if I can find anything in writing. At that point," Mashburn said, "Mr. McCall stated that it would not be necessary so I did not pursue."

McCall also said in the press conference that he had spoken with County Commissioner Scott Keadle, who said he would be in favor of allocating money to have the private information removed from online public documents.

But the county has already allocated money for that service, said Bell. And that was confirmed today by Iredell Finance Director, Susan Blumenstein. Responding to a Report inquiry, Blumenstein said that Iredell County Purchase Order No. 222, in the amount of $71,000, was issued on Aug. 31, 2010 to Cott Systems for "Redaction Services."

"The project is currently in process," she added.

Bell, responding to her challenger's accusations that she hasn't been proactive in protecting Iredell citizens' identities, said over the phone today: "I chose not to put anything out there because I don't like to stir up great alarm. Timing is everything."

She stressed the importance for citizens to understand that the removal of social-security and drivers'-license numbers is specific only to online records. "Not to cause further alarm ... (but) the permanent record will stay the same." The law, she said, does not allow registers of deeds to alter permanent public records. "The records in the Register of Deeds Office are public records with some restrictions. We cannot change anything pertaining to the official record."

Bell said the county will examine more than 3.5 million images from 1934 to the present. She said she chose the "basic package," which means "the project will involve staff to complete at some point, and it is certainly not cheap by any means." But the debt, she added, "is being paid for out of the Register of Deeds Technology and Preservation fund and not from tax dollars."

She said a survey of potential cost for the service revealed that prices range from 5-10 cents per image to $2 million for larger counties. And while the state passed the law giving counties discretion in scrubbing personal information from the online documents, it didn't appropriate money for the counties to perform the service. "One of the concerns of the N.C. Association of Registers of Deeds," Bell said, "is that laws are passed with no money being appropriated to fund it for the counties. Some of the smaller counties will never be able to afford to do this."

She said county registers "have to be very careful in choosing companies to do this work" since the information involved is so sensitive.

To further protect Iredell's citizens, Bell said, the Register of Deeds will also soon have software in place to allow people "the means to receive notification if anything is recorded in their names.

"This will be at no cost to the citizens," she said. "We have worked with our computer software company for some time on both of these identity-theft and land-fraud issues."

"I have done everything I believe I should have done," Bell said. " I had chosen to wait until the redaction project was complete and the land-fraud software in place before doing a news release, and I certainly did not want it to look like a political move."

Have concerns or questions? Bell said her office wants to hear from you. Call 704-872-7468.