Thank you Mason for this excellent post! Your analysis is dead on.

The County officials may be very dissapointed in the new revenue source they hope to create. The fact is, put the records online is a money loser in spite of what those who WILL make money may be telling your officials. The counties that go online are squandering a great asset that was created by their predecessors. Even worse, they are paying someone else to squander it for them. They are exposing the County to lawsuits from both their citizens and those who intend to seize control of the records for their own profit. Perhaps worst of all they do this against the wishes of the citizens and use taxpayer money to do it!

I think your approach of taking it to the people is excellent and very timely considering this is an election year.

It cannot be denied that the abstractors are threatened by the reckless move of the County officials. It is just as undeniable that the move to publish the records online threatens every local title company and related business. It threatens the economic and physical security of every local citizens and profits only those outside the community.

As I was writing this, a friend called with news of a similar situation in Austin Texas. The voters were asked to decide. Here is the link.

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Austin voters on Saturday roundly rejected both charter amendments that have dominated the election this spring.

Proposition 1, which called for public records to be available on the Internet, was overwhelmingly defeated. About three-quarters of the voters turned down the measure.

Austin American Statesman