Progress made in county records

On Aug. 5, Cape County voters will face an important decision in the recorder of deeds election. I believe voters should make that decision based on facts, with knowledge of the progress made within the office in the past three and a half years.

My first term as recorder has been dedicated to enhancing access to records. All of the improvements made ultimately ensure that the records are more readily and conveniently accessible to the public. This includes expanding the digital database, which makes more records than ever digitally searchable, viewable and printable. More than 25,000 document images have been added to the index since I took office; 2,000 subdivision plats have been added, all the way back to 1806. Twenty years worth of marriage licenses have been digitized and indexed. This is in addition to our daily work of 53,000 documents processed in the past three and a half years.

We now have more computers available for public searching. In 2012, an innovative e-recording service was launched, which benefits hundreds of businesses each year from attorneys and banks to title companies. In 2012, the county commission approved a much-needed remodeling project for the office, addressing critical safety and accessibility issues. Because of this, the office is more wheelchair accessible. The project also included a new storage system that improved access to the office's older, bound book records.

All of these changes have made the recorder's office more convenient, effective and efficient, while other changes, like bringing previously outsourced services in-house, have cut costs by thousands of dollars.

Those goals will always be a key part of my focus as recorder of deeds; ultimately, the office exists to serve our county's residents and to protect more than 200 years' worth of history. As custodian of those records, the recorder has a responsibility to maintain and safeguard these important documents. It's a responsibility I take very seriously, and I follow all of the requirements under state law pertaining to that including the statute (59.003) that requires all requests for documents recorded by the recorder of deeds to come through the recorder's office.

The recorder of deeds houses a secure, backup copy of records at the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center, to protect the integrity of the public records, and for emergency purposes should something happen to the versions kept in the recorder's office (destroyed by fire, etc.). Keeping an off-site, secure copy of records is a precedent followed by recorders throughout the state. Because of this, the copies stored at the archive center are not intended for public access. Those documents cannot be "secure" if they are available for public use; the integrity of those documents would be compromised.

As my record of service and the progress made over the past three years show, I am committed to not just maintaining public access, but improving it. That's a commitment I'll continue if re-elected. Please take time to educate yourself about the recorder of deeds race, the candidates and issues at stake. It has been a privilege to serve you during my first term, and I humbly ask for your vote on Aug. 5.

SCOTT R. CLARK, Cape Girardeau County Recorder of Deeds, 1010 Greensferry Road, Jackson, MO 63755

Paid for by Friends of Scott R Clark; Albert M Spradling III treasurer.