For the Record

When the going gets tough in government - May 2007

When the going gets tough in government, the tough get creative as they poke around, looking for new streams of revenue.

First stop? Your wallet.

House Bill 4582 introduced this month would increase copy fees from $1 per page to $7 per page for documents - an incredible 700 percent increase - at county Register of Deeds offices across the state. Our office did not request such an arbitrary, unwarranted increase.

This proposed legislation violates what should be the key guiding principle of good government: Providing the best possible service at the lowest cost.

The plan, apparently, is that the state and counties will divvy up the increased $7 fee ($3.50 each) and then return an additional $1 to the county as part of a "revenue sharing" account sometime later. Everybody wins - everybody except taxpayers and small businesses who require those documents.

The bill, proposed by Rep. Doug Bennett, D-Muskegon, is now being considered by the Committee on Intergovernmental, Urban and Regional Affairs.

Here in Oakland County, thanks to technology and our dedicated staff, charging customers $1 per page still covers our costs. Our Register of Deeds Office provided about 66,000 copies last year, mostly to homeowners, title and real estate companies, who will almost certainly pass on any increased costs to their customers. Guess who pays if we are forced to charge $462,000 for those same documents? You.

Proponents are arguing that fees haven't been increased in 40 years and that many Register of Deeds offices have high record storage expenses. Costs, however, simply do not warrant a 700 percent increase. Anytime a fee cannot be justified by government, it is a tax increase. Fees shouldn't be tinkered with, willy-nilly, as part of any patch to the state's economic woes.

Unfortunately, HB 4582 may be a sign of the things to come. This state is struggling. Jobs and people are leaving. Michigan, USA Today recently noted, is number one in the country in home foreclosures.

Michigan has so much potential as a place to work, raise our families and prosper. It is time for our state leaders to get creative - but with cuts that must be made to live within our budget - not with hidden tax that burdens taxpayers and small businesses in already tough economic times. Urge your legislator to vote against HB 4582.

Ruth Johnson
Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds

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