banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner

Local News

Negotiate with register of deeds is solution to Barry County assessor concerns, attorney says

Bonnie Toskey, attorney with Cohl, Stoker, Toskey and McGlinchey, P.C., was at the Barry County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday to clarify issues surrounding a recent policy change by the county Register of Deeds Barbara Hurless.
Toskey reviewed state laws covering county register of deeds and their rights and responsibilities for the commission and several township supervisors and assessors in the audience. Between 35 and 40 interested people attended the meeting.

At issue is the policy Hurless set in late September denying county assessors open, unfettered access to the department’s entire data base where they could view and print documents free.

Her reason for the change was abuse of the records by three assessors who had been warned, stopped the abuse for a time, but went back to the same misuse of the records, she said. When she closed the access, Hurless said according to the law, she would e-mail assessors a copy of all the transactions they needed every thirty days.
 

Toskey said Hurless is meeting the disbursement of information to assessors she is legally mandated to do and doing more by providing reports by e-mail or letter once a week including buyer and seller names, description of the parcel, interest conveyed and date at no charge.

“That’s all an assessor needs to do his job,” she said.

The solution to the objections brought by supervisors and assessors that taking away complete access to the records diminishes their ability to do their jobs, Toskey said, is to meet with Hurless and negotiate an intergovernmental agreement, which a register of deeds can do in this case, and together find a way to provide what the assessors feel they need and still protect the use of the records.

 

In some instances, boards of commission have the power to regulate some activities of the register, but not here. “The law has carved out an exception for the register of deeds,” Toskey said. To several complaints from the assessors of Yankee Springs and Rutland townships and others, the answer was the same; sit down with Hurless and work it out through negotiation.

Toskey said she was surprised the situation drew so much controversy and interest, especially since it was clear in the statutes that Hurless was going beyond what she was required to do.
Toskey noted that assessors perform a critical service, noting that property taxes provide up to 60 percent of municipal budgets and must be factual.
Also, the register’s office is income producing; sending $2.25 million to the county’s general fund in the last four years.//

However, Hurless has the sole discretion to protect the documents and the cost of documents.
By law, registers must notify the taxing unit, the township, not the assessors, and then notify the assessing office of the taxing unit and equalization, once every thirty days.
During the weeks of controversy, liber and page numbers were brought up, but Toskey said it is simply a method of locating records and has nothing to do with the discussion.

A question from Commissioner Jon Smelker went unanswered: “If three assessors are misusing records why not slap their hands and leave the rest alone?”

 

In other business, the commissioners:
*appointed Shawn Winters to complete a term on the Barry County Transit Board ending Dec. 31, 2018.
*approved a three-year contract extension for Hastings City Barry County Airport Manager Mark Noteboom at $65,000 a year. The Hastings City Council must also approve the agreement.
*reappointed David McIntyre to serve a three year term on the Department of Human Services board.
*appointed Patrick Hansma, D.O. a deputy medical examiner for the county.
*renewed the contract with VARIPRO as third party administrator of short term disability claims of county employees for one year.
*approved a memorandum of understanding between the Barry County and Eaton County Board of Commissioners on BEHD funding ratios.
*approved the 2017 fiscal year Michigan Drug Court grant program.
*approved submitting a proposal of intent to apply for grants for homeowner rehabilitation/home buyers from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

 

Listen Live

DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP

FOR YOUR PHONE OR TABLET!

     

Weather

On Air Now

Chad Henry & Dave McIntyre
Chad Henry & Dave McIntyre
6:00am - 10:00am
Morning Show