Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003 | 9:15 a.m.
The Clark County Commission voted 5-0 to amend the contract with Virginia-based AmCad to computerize the records of documents in the recorder's office.
The new contract, which ultimately is designed to bring documents online through the Internet, will be $5.1 million, up from the original cost of $4.9 million, Assistant County Manager Rick Holmes said.
Holmes said the amended contract should be fulfilled by March 2004. The original date of the contract completion was April 2003. Holmes said county staff and the recorder's staff bear some of the responsibility for those delays.
Recorder Francis Deane, who has been sharply critical of the AmCad contract and the center of controversy since the revelation of her aborted plan to sell access to the same documents over the Internet, said she would cooperate fully with the county and AmCad to have the contract completed.
Deane and a half-dozen supporters defended the performance of the recorder's office during the public comment period of the County Commission meeting.
Tom Willis, a real estate agent, called on the county to provide Deane with more staff members to handle a heavy workload. Deane has drawn fire from county officials who have charged that she gives preferential treatment to title companies, which provide services to real estate companies.
County Manager Thom Reilly told the commissioners that they had previously approved hiring five short-term employees and two office assistants for the office, and that it is up to the recorder to hire the new employees.
"We will be moving forward within the next two to three weeks in making hiring decisions," Deane said.
She said criticism directed toward her and her office is unwarranted given the heavy volume of documents -- 25 percent more than during the previous administration -- that she handles.
"The work we accomplish each and every day for the people of the county of Clark is my vindication," Deane said.
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