David Carpenter

Running for San Juan County Recorder

When my wife and I decided to relocate to San Juan County to raise our family, I knew that I wanted to do more for my community. When the opportunity to serve as the county recorder presented itself, I jumped at the opportunity to make our county recorder’s office one of the best in the state. With 25 years of professional experience that directly relates to the specific roles and responsibilities of a county recorder, I knew that I could serve our county in a meaningful way.

In this industry, I assisted in GSP survey projects, subdivision development engineering, as well as road and bridge engineering. These engineering projects have been both small and large – some with budgets of millions of dollars. With every one of these projects, I worked with land records offices all over the country and have seen the dangers of poor record keeping firsthand.

Over the last six years as your county recorder, our department has received many compliments from both citizens and professionals searching for records. They find our system is easy to navigate and the information they need is readily available and accurate.

We have accomplished a great deal over the last six years, and I am proud of our office. By implementing new technology, we have:

• Increased the efficiency and reduced the error rate of manual data entry

• Updated the 10-year-old indexing and abstracting software to the current version

• Created new county policy and implemented electronic recording

• Saved the county $1,400 per year in materials by changing the recording process to eliminate paper copy books of recorded documents, also eliminating the need for a major vault remodel

• Implemented a recording process which eliminated the need to hold original recorded documents for several days while they were copied and indexed

• Scanned 244 previously undigitized record books so they can be accessed without the need to remove them from the vault

• Combined 134 separate parcel computer drawing files into a single reference file, eliminating significant duplication as well as the ability to identify parcel boundary errors across township/range and section boundaries.

I am running for a second term as the county recorder because we have more work to do. I want to see these important projects through and ensure our record keeping process is ready for the future. I do not want our county to be left behind.

• Preparing parcel boundaries to be adjusted to current county survey monuments. This is important as our county and state collaborate more for both 911 and emergency services but also to ensure that private landowners know where their boundaries are and how they relate to their neighbors.

• Migrating electronic parcel boundary data to a Geographic Information system (ESRI)

• Electronic indexing and abstracting of records prior to July 7, 1991. This will greatly reduce the time it takes to research the chain of title for land records.

• Implement remote records search capability. This also must be balanced with security and privacy to ensure that land owners privacy is protected from both misuse and fraud.

I look forward to continuing to serve our community as San Juan County recorder. Private property is fundamental to our communities, and I believe that my experiences have uniquely qualified me to serve.

I hope that I have earned the trust of our residents as I have worked to make our recorder’s office one of the best in the state. I believe this office is vital to protecting the property rights of our citizens.

I ask for your vote on June 30.

San Juan Record

49 South Main St
PO Box 879
Monticello, UT 84535

Phone: 435.587.2277
Fax: 435.587.3377
news@sjrnews.com
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