NEW RECORDERS 2019 MCRA Summer Conference Madden's on Gull Lake

NEW RECORDERS 2019

MCRA Summer Conference
Madden’s on Gull Lake

WELCOME
INTRODUCTIONS
    Executive Board
    New Recorders
MACO/MCRA Structure, Districts, Committees
MACO website and forums
MACO certification with Century College
Standard Recording Requirements
Searching MN Statutes, Laws, Rules, MN Title Standards
Technology and Compliance Funds
MOMS
PRIA/PRIA Local
Acronyms
Release of Information
Budget
Wrap up

MCRA EXECUTIVE BOARD
The Executive Board of the Minnesota County Recorders
Association consists of:
 President of MCRA: Rick Kvien (Steele County)
 First Vice President: Martin McCormick (Hennepin County)
 Second Vice President: Sharon Budin (LeSueur County)
 Third Vice President: Pam LeBlanc (Anoka County)
 Secretary: Jennifer Fibison (Olmsted County)
 Treasurer: Jill Cordes (Mower County)
 Past President: Becky McCann (Jackson County)

NEW MINNESOTA RECORDERS FROM 2016 TO PRESENT:

   Cheryl Kantor        Benton County
   Michael Stalberger   Blue Earth County
   Kaaren Lewis         Carver County
   Janet R Converse     Chisago County
   Kimberly Savageau    Clay County
   Amy Koethe           Dakota County
   Mary Skillings       Douglas County
   Susan Schwebach      Houston County
   Karen Long           Isanti County
   Nicolle Zuehlke      Itasca County
   Lisa Holcomb         Kanabec County
   Lindsay Frank        Koochiching County
   Lori Ekstrom         Lake County
   Michelle Facile      Lincoln County

Michelle DeSmet         Lyon County
Linda Hamrick           Marshall County
Diane Sanders           Martin County
Thelma Yager            Nobles County
Julie Hansen            Pennington County
Lorri Houtsma           Pine County
Sarah Green             Pope County
Laurie Abrahamson       Renville County
Mary Garness            Saint Louis County
Julie Hanson            Scott County
Rita Lodermeier         Stearns County
Nichole Olson Mahoney   Stevens County
Linda Daoust            Todd County
Karla Doll              Watonwan County
Tanya West              Wright County

MACO and MCRA STRUCTURE,
DISTRICTS AND COMMITTEES
Presenter: Elaine Martig, Big Stone County Recorder

Minnesota Association of County Officers
The Minnesota Association of County Officers
consists of the County Recorders, County Auditors
and County Treasurers. Many counties have
restructured and now have “Land Records” and
“Finance/Taxation” offices, so the titles are no
longer the same county-to-county. The associations
under the MACO umbrella are:
•    Minnesota County Recorders Association (MCRA)
•    Minnesota Association of County Auditors,
     Treasurers and Finance Officers (MACATFO)
There are nine MACO districts.
The MACO Committees are: Legislative, Education,
MOMS, Vitals and Website.
MACO holds its annual conference in February in
the Twin Cities.

Minnesota County Recorders Association
 The purpose of the Minnesota County Recorders Association is to coordinate
  with other counties, identify needs, and promote efficiencies in recording. The
  MCRA districts follow the MACO districts, and each district has a District Chair.
 The Executive Board of the MCRA is the President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice
  President, 3rd Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Past President. The 1st,
  2nd and 3rd Vice Presidents rotate each year, so the 1st VP becomes the
  President, 2nd VP becomes 1st VP, and 3rd VP becomes 2nd VP, and a new 3rd
  VP is recruited. That way each president has a three-year “training in” period.
 The MCRA committees are: Auditing, Bylaws and Resolutions, Conference
  Planning, Education, Legislative, Nominations, Communications and
  Technology, and Torrens. In addition, we have a Historian, whose shoes I
  would not want to fill. All Recorders are encouraged to be on a committee.
  More committee members are always needed, and you learn a lot!
 The MCRA districts follow the MACO districts. Use your MCRA District as a
  good resource. Get your questions answered by your neighbors!
 The MCRA annual conference is held in June, usually in the Brainerd area.

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS
Presenter: Kris Basilici, Carlton County Recorder

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

                     Home Page MACO Website
                     Getting Started
                     For member sign on authorization:
                     Send an email to MACO Member Services at info@mncounty.org to get their member profile set up and receive sign-in
                     instructions.

                     The sign on is necessary as certain areas of the MACO website are for
                     members only, this includes the FORUM section.

                     For ListServ Issues Contact Sonja Nelson as Sonjan@mncounty.org

                     The Home Page contains:
                     My Profile
                     Manage Profile
                     Sign Out
                     Search Criteria

                     Drop Down Menus (We will cover on next slide)
                     MACO Quicklinks
                     Latest News
                     Calendar
                     Contact Information

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

                     Drop Down Menus
                          Exploring the drop down menus will be the best way to become
                                                  COMFORTABLE

                                         with the content of this website

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

                          On the “Home Page” click on “MACO Forums” to access
                              this section of the website

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

   THIS SECTION WILL COVER:

  FORUM “HOW TO”

  MY PROFILE

  FOUR SECTIONS OF THE FORUM   MACO
                               MACATFO
                               MCRA
                               VITALS
                                      COMMITTEE POSTS

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

                                Example:
                          Sections & Committee

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

                          Posting to the Calendar

MACO WEBSITE AND FORUMS

                      Questions? The MACO Website Committee Members will
                      be happy to assist you with your inquiries.

                      The Committee Members are:

                     And Kris Basilici @ kris.basilici@co.carlton.mn.us
                     Thank you for your time and attention today. Enjoy this resource!

MACO CERTIFICATION WITH
CENTURY COLLEGE
Presenters: Betti Kamolz, Brown County Recorder and
          Charlene Friedlein, Hennepin County

Guidelines for MACO Certification

1. Participant’s registration forms need to be submitted to Century College within 30 days of a MACO meeting that
   was designed as a co-sponsored education event providing hours/CEUs to be included in the next MACO
   Certification and Continuing Education program.

2. If a participant contacts Century College to say they do not wish to participate, we will remove their name from
   the database.

3. If Century College is informed by MACO that a name should be removed from the database, because the officer
   has left a county office, we will remove their name.

4. No class or event will receive hours or CEUs unless sponsored by MACO and registered with the educational
   institution.

5. Changes to your transcripts must be submitted in writing. MACO can use a change form for this information.
   Information included on the change form would be name, address, county, office, additions or subtractions to the
   transcript.

6. Forty-five hours of approved education is required for certification. MACO will offer a minimum of 60 hours over
   four years. Certificates will be distributed at a time designated by the MACO Education Committee.

7. Forty hours of approved education in a four-year period is required for recertification. Members will be eligible for
   re-certification after reaching certification as described in paragraph six.

8. Only MACO Winter Conference, MCRA Summer Conference and MACATFO Summer Conference are approved
   for hours and CEUs.

Use your legal name or the same name consistently and notify Century College of any name changes with the
change form

                          THE TRACKING FORM IS INCLUDED IN YOUR BINDER

Important Certification Information
Process to become certified or re-certified.
Individuals need to contact Sharon Mason (Sharon.Mason@century.edu) to obtain a copy of their transcript which will indicate the number of hours that have
been tracked. Only the actual member can request their transcripts. When a member has the required number of hours, they can submit a copy of their
transcripts to the MACO Education Chairperson. Certificates will be issued each year at the MACO Conference. Deadline to submit is December 31 of each
year.

SHARON MASON

Program Manager

Business, IT, and Law Enforcement

sharon.mason@century.edu

t: 651-773-1743

3300 Century Avenue North, White Bear Lake, MN 55110

https://www.century.edu | A MEMBER OF MINNESOTA STATE SYSTEM

If you have registered with MACO and paid the annual $45 to have your 2019 CEUs tracked by Century
College, mail or fax this form by July 12, 2019 to Amanda Beneke at the MACO Office:

        MACO Office, Attn: Amanda Beneke
        1000 Westgate Drive, Suite 252
        St. Paul, MN 55114
        Fax: 651.290.2266

STANDARD RECORDING
REQUIREMENTS
Presenter: Katie Mega, Hennepin County
Resident and Real Estate Services Supervisor

What to look for when reviewing a document:
- Is this abstract or torrens?

- Legal description or reference number

- Signatures and acknowledgments/jurats

- Tax Statement name and address

- Drafted by name and address

- Exhibits

Common reasons documents are rejected

Legal description                 Tax statement/drafted by statement
Notary                            Reference document number
Imaging issues (eRecording)       Delinquent taxes
Examiner approval                 Fees (paper)
No recorded interest in Torrens   Marital status

Abstract VS Torrens

- Torrens is registered with the courts
- Verification of interest
- Additional information required
- Fees (508.82)

SEARCHING MN STATUTES, LAWS,
RULES and MN TITLE STANDARDS
Presenter: Elaine Martig, Big Stone County Recorder

MINNESOTA STATUTES
Minnesota Statutes is a compilation of the general and
permanent laws of the State of Minnesota. There are
several ways to search the statutes:

2018 Statutes: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/

Minnesota Statutes from 1851 to 2017:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/archive

You can search by topic: If you enter “electronic
notarization” in the 2018 Statutes, your results would show

You can also search by statute number:

LAWS OF MINNESOTA
Session Laws of the State of Minnesota include acts of the
Legislature as passed in each year’s legislative session. Laws of
a permanent nature are subsequently incorporated into
Minnesota Statutes. To search laws:

Current (2019): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/current/

Archive (1849 through 2019-2020):
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/

The Session Laws are compiled in chronological order and are
listed with its House or Senate File number. In each session law,
strikeouts indicate language deleted from an existing law, and
underline indicates new language. Searches are done by
topic.

MINNESOTA ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

Rules are usually grouped under the agency that
administers them. Some agencies are assigned one
chapter in Minnesota Rules; others have many chapters.
The chapters appear in alphabetical order by agency or
department name. Search administrative rules at:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/

To do a keyword search of statutes, laws and rules, go to
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/search/?stat=1&laws=1&rule=1
and click on “Search Law by Keyword”:

Typing in “well disclosure” results in 43 statutes and 15 rules:

MINNESOTA TITLE STANDARDS
The Title Standards Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the
Minnesota State Bar Association has created and continually updates
Minnesota Title Standards, which is a comprehensive code of standards
to guide attorneys examining real property titles and documenting real
property transfers. This publication used to be in a three-ring binder that
was updated annually, but it is now provided online free of charge. It is
widely regarded as “the authority” for title examinations in Minnesota.

To access the Minnesota Title Standards online, go to:
https://www.mnbar.org/members/sections/real-property-law-
section/minnesota-title-standards-online

The “White Pages” is a supplement to the Minnesota Title Standards. It is
intended to be a guide to the real estate lawyer in preparing real estate
transactions. The Guidelines for Legal Descriptions and Survey Matters are
not title standards but are a set of tools available to resolve issues that
may arise when reviewing a legal description or survey.

SEARCHING THE TITLE STANDARDS, WHITE PAGES
AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION/SURVEY GUIDELINES:
 Title Standards Table of Contents starts on page 6 (currently 116 Standards)
    • Title Standards start on page 11
    • An alphabetical Title Standards Index is on page 160
    • An alphabetical list of curative acts pertinent to the examination of real
       property titles start on page 187
 White Pages Table of Contents starts on page 205
    • Instruments required to transfer title to real property starts on page 205
    • Instruments required to remove encumbrances starts on page 209
    • Methods suggested for clearing objections to title starts on page 210
    • Instruments required to transfer title to real property starts on page 211
    • Instruments required to remove encumbrances starts on page 324
    • Methods suggested for clearing objections to title starts on page 341
 Guidelines for legal descriptions and survey matters starts on page 349
   • Table of Contents starts on page 350
   • Guidelines start on page 351

TECHNOLOGY AND COMPLIANCE
FUNDS
Presenter: Nancy McGregor
Cottonwood County Chief Deputy Recorder

This presentation will help you better understand your technology and
unallocated fund monies and how they may be used. Some Counties
will call the unallocated fund the compliance fund.

Recorder Technology Fund:

Refer to MS 357.18, Subd. 4. $10.00 of every document you record is to be
deposited into a separate fund and spent at your discretion for modernizing
the land records system. This fund is supplemental only and should not be
used by your Boards to diminish daily operating expenses. In Cottonwood
County we keep a spreadsheet and know our balance at all times.

In addition, we estimate what we believe we will take in every year, and it
appears on our budget as revenue.

So what have we used it for through the years? We have used it twice to
upgrade the real estate software. We have used it several times for new
equipment. We have used it to digitize and index all our old records. We
have used it for scanning projects. When we began e-recording, the Auditor-
Treasurer’s computers were outdated, and I purchased new computers and
wide screen monitors for those offices in an effort to move the process
forward.

Be careful how you spend it. If you have something in mind and you are not
sure is a qualified expenditure, ask your District or other Recorders for advice.

Unallocated Fund:

Refer to MS 357.182. $11.00 of every document you record is to be segregated
into a separate account to support enhancements to the recording process
and for use in undertaking data integration and aggregation projects. This
money is not to be used to supplant normal operating expenses of County
Recorder.

This fund differs from the Technology Fund in two ways. It is authorized by the
vote of the County Board and is available for projects outside the Recorder’s
office.

As the County Recorder, you must stay in compliance with the recording,
indexing and returning of documents for these monies to be available.

Each year at budget time you are required to include a report to your
respective Board on the status of your compliance. (See subd 6.)

In 2015, we established an Unallocated Fund Committee in Cottonwood
County. Kathy wrote the bylaws and chairs the committee. She has a
Commissioner, the Auditor-Treasurer, Assessor and Coordinator sitting on this
committee with her. In Cottonwood County, we use this money only for land
records projects. We receive a quarterly balance report from the Auditor-
Treasurer.

Through the years we have used the unallocated fund money for several
projects:
Upgrades and enhancements to real estate software.
Implementing GIS.
New flyovers.
Scanning projects.
Digitizing and indexing old records.

Please contact me with any questions:
Kathy Kretsch
kathleen.kretsch@co.cottonwood.mn.us
(507)831-1458

MOMS
Presenter: Kimberly Savageua, Clay County
Recorder
Minnesota Official Marriage System
https://moms.mn.gov – Public use for searching
https://admin.moms.mn.gov – Administrative site

THE PROBLEM

 Customer service demands
    Genealogy continued to grow as a hobby
        Genealogists would call with lists of research questions
        Genealogists would arrive in person to search records for days at a time
        Genealogists upset about contacting each individual county
    Identity fraud was growing
        Individuals needed to prove who they are
        Records to prove name changes increased
        Government agencies needed verification of records
        Banks, insurance and other organizations needs for records increased
    Increase in demand for certified copies of records

COLLABORATION

 A group of Recorders who were also Local Vital Record Registrars had lunch
 A vendor representative who writes code happened to be with
 The customer service issues related to marriage records discussed
 Web based solutions discussed
 Notes taken on napkins
 87 county collaboration plan was created
 List of costs was created
 Budget was created
 Information was shared with Local Registrars
 Vote was taken, buy in by all counties was needed

LEGISLATION

 2007 legislation passed to increase the marriage license fee by $10 to
  provide funding to counties to create and maintain a statewide online
  search/request tool for marriage records       (MS 517.071 Subd. 1c)
 The statewide collaboration was established under the Minnesota
  Association of County Officers (MACO) umbrella and named MOMS
  (Minnesota Official Marriage System)
 Invoices and contracts were sent to counties
 Funds came in
 Hardware purchased
 Development started

FUNDING
 MACO assesses dues annually according to county population size, MOMS followed suit,
  using 4 population levels
         50,001 and up      $2,500
         25,001-50,000      $1,500
         10,001-25,000      $ 750
         Under 10,000       $ 300
 MOMS currently is on a 1 year cycle
 MACO audits all income and expenses
 All MOMS income/expenses are processed through MACO Treasury

WHO USES MOMS?

 Genealogists
     Historical Societies, History Centers, Libraries
 Government agencies
     Social Security, IRS, FBI, Child Support, Medical Examiner’s
      Office, Law Enforcement, Fraud Investigators, Immigration, too
      many to name
 Banks, Insurance, Financial institutions and other private entities
 Title Industry
     Attorneys, Underwriters, Closing Agents, Abstractors

Benefits to Counties
                  and Customers
 Online statewide searching improves customer service
 Online request method provides efficient customer service
 Online services extends hours of service to 24/7
 Self help customer service frees up staff time to do other things
 Provides easy access for county staff to search statewide
 Reduces calls and emails from customers and other counties trying to locate
  records
 Reduces staff time assisting callers when they provide the record number/detail
 County staff direct customers to MOMS to make their request method more
  efficient
 High volume of hits, visits and comments communicate customer satisfaction

MOMS CONTACTS

 Joan Boesen, Co-Chair, boesen.joan@co.olmsted.mn.us

 Kimberly S. Savageau, Co-Chair, kimberly.savageau@co.clay.mn.us

 Pegi Palmes, MOMS.Coordinator@outlook.com

 Pegi Palmes DADS.Coordinator@outlook.com

PROPERTY RECORDS INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATION (PRIA)/PRIA LOCAL
Charlene Friedlein, Hennepin County
PRIA Property Records Industry Association
Carl R. Ernst Founders Award/Scholarship
* Deadline for 2019/2020 is Saturday, June 15, 2019
PRIA Local
Minnesota PRIA Local Chapters

ACRONYMS
Charlene Friedlein, Hennepin County

ACRONYM OVERLOAD
This is a small representation of the many acronyms, abbreviations or initialisms
presented to all of us every day.

RELEASE OF INFORMATION
Brenda Knable, Clearwater County Recorder

Minnesota Statutes 13.03 ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT DATA

BUDGET
Presenter: Elaine Martig, Big Stone County Recorder

In Big Stone County, the budget for the following year is submitted
in July. Here’s what I do in Big Stone County. I’m sure it’s different for
every county, especially the larger ones.

• The auditor gives me a printout of the current year’s budget and
  also the expenditures/income to date
• I estimate how many documents will be recorded, birth
  certificates will be issued, etc., based on the last few years’
  counts (income)
• I look at anticipated costs for the next year, such as computer
  upgrades, furniture that needs to be replaced, replication costs,
  fees to our recording software vendor, big projects such as
  microfilm conversion, etc.
• Make an estimate of income and expenses
• Every county is different, but my commissioners have never
  turned me down when I made a request
• Does any other county want to add anything?

THAT’S A WRAP!
• What’s in that binder you gave me?

• Torrens: Back to the Basics on Wednesday, June 12, at 10:15

• E-notarization demonstration on Thursday, June 13, at 9:30

• Legal description courses:
   • Martin County is sponsoring a legal description course by
     Sidwell Company at the Holiday Inn in Fairmont, Minnesota on
     June 18-19, 2019
   • Jeanne Johnson & Assoc LLC online at classes.landrecs.com/

• PRIA “For New Recorders” on right side of page at
  https://www.pria.us/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1

THANK YOU!

 We’re so glad to welcome you to the
Minnesota County Recorders Association!