League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 6, 2012 Election
	Wayne Coates Answers Questions Candidate for Recorder; County of Hamilton

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What are your qualifications for office? (50 Word limit)

I have served as County Recorder through one of the worst economic downturns in Hamilton County's history, and even with a severe reduction in personnel I have been able to meet statutory obligations, consolidate resources, and save taxpayers millions of dollars that has assisted commissioners in balancing our county's budget.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

This year we have begun the redaction of personal identifying information from over 18 million digital records. I believe it is imperative that we continue to protect an individual's personal and private information from identity theft.

Utilizing electronic recording of documents streamlines the process and minimizes the number of people handling documents. It increases recorder staff efficiency and reduces operational costs associated with a paper-based workflow.

Since 2009 I have placed the Hamilton County Grantor/Grantee Indexes from 1789 through 1988, and over 5,000 subdivision and condominium plats online. I will be placing the redacted images online as well.

3. What are the two most pressing issues you will face if you are elected? (100 word limit)

The budget office is projecting a $429,000 reduction in their 2013 budget forecast for the Hamilton County Recorder's Office. Trying to work within that framework will be extremely problematic given that I have already reduced personnel by 44% in the past four years.

The second problem will be meeting my statutory obligation should the Commissioners approved their 2013 budget office forecast recommendation.

4. How will you address each of those issues? (100 word limit)

The state legislature sets the recording fees and the Commissioners set the Recorder's Office budget. In 2008 the recorder's operating budget was $2.2 million, and in 2012 it was $1.4 million. I have already reduced personnel from 39 to 22, merged six departments down to three, cross trained personnel,and streamlined operations. Any further reduction could cause office availability issues and document delays.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Answers will be cut off if they exceed a word limit, if present. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 21, 2012 11:36
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.