Recorder wants to boot copier

By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County recorder is about to pull the plug on the copier that title companies own and keep in the courthouse basement.
If that happens, the county will likely end up being sued.
"The bottom line is that the law says I'm supposed to do something, and I'm going to follow the law," said Ron Gerberry, who became recorder in January.
The bone of contention is a copier in the basement of the recorder's office being used daily by title companies, but which isn't owned by the county.
Gerberry says that's wrong and has ordered the machine to be removed. Once it's gone, title searchers will have to start paying the county $1 per page for copies of documents, the same amount paid by the general public.
That's what the law requires. "I don't think the law is fair. I think the amount is somewhat ludicrous," Gerberry said.
So do the title companies and they are not happy about the prospect of paying nearly eight times more than they do now.
Background: James H. Davis of Chicago Title Insurance Co. said a copier has been there some 30 years because it helps keep down costs.
In the past, there were as many as five or six copiers because several companies kept their own machines there, he said. Several years ago, they decided to pool their resources and share one copier.
His company handles the lease and bills each user twice a year for its copies.
The cost per copy is about 13 cents. The title companies pay for their own supplies and maintenance.
"Nobody makes any money off those copies. All we do is cover our overhead," Davis said.
Why this matters: That's money that should be going to the county, Gerberry said, estimating the county loses about $225,000 a year in copy fees from title companies. The money would go into the general fund.
Such a sharp increase could not be absorbed by the title companies and would have to be passed on to the customers, Davis said. Title companies now build the cost of copies into their fee and don't charge extra for them.
A typical home sale involves five to eight pages of documents attached to the title guarantee. Each sale requires three sets of copies.
Some sales, like ones involving condominiums, can involve hundreds of pages.
If the machine is removed and the $1-per-copy fee enforced, the companies will probably sue the county to challenge the constitutionality of the fee, Davis said.
Gerberry, a former state legislator, thinks they would have a good chance of winning.
Former recorder: The title companies have offered in the past to reimburse the county for electricity to operate the copier, or to lease the space, but got no response, said former recorder Bruce Papalia, who now lives in Florida.
"The copier in the basement really wasn't a concern to me," said Papalia, who was recorder for 12 years and served as chief deputy for eight years before that.
The copiers were in place long before Papalia went to work in the office and he doesn't understand why it's become an issue now.
Davis said the companies will again ask the county about leasing space so they can keep their copier. That decision will have to be made by county commissioners.
County Administrator Gary Kubic said commissioners will ask for a recommendation from Gerberry and seek input from other counties before making a decision.
"The practice that was employed in the past was improper and needs to be changed," Kubic said. "How we will change it remains to be seen."
If title companies are made to pay the higher price, commissioners could set aside a portion of that money to help pay for imaging equipment that would make recorder's documents easier to file and retrieve, and cheaper to reproduce, he said.