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Jeff Martin, Yellowstone County Clerk and Recorder, has filed for election to the position he was appointed by County Commissioners to fill following the retirement of Tony Nave last spring. State law requires that the position be filled for its remaining term, by an election at the next general election.

Martin, who filed as a Republican candidate for the position, said that he is "thankful that the county commissioners had faith in me to appoint me to the position." They selected him from a broad field of candidates and he assumed the position on June 1.

Martin said that he has enjoyed the challenge of learning the ropes of his new job, and believes his background in real estate has been a great asset. He is quick to point out, however, that after 16 years as Clerk and Recorder, Nave left the office "in fantastic shape," in terms of staffing, budgets, etc.

The Clerk and Recorders office is responsible for filing and maintaining all legal documents in the county, including property transactions, marriage and birth certificates and other matters of public record. The office also keeps the minutes of the meetings of the Yellowstone County Commissioners and records all their actions, resolutions and legal agreements and contracts.

To try to improve the office and how it serves the public, Martin said that he has focused on updating the technology it uses. The current software has been in place since 1998, and is no longer supported by its manufacturer.

Martin plans to include in next year's budget an expenditure of $106,010 for a new system, which totally automates much of the work that the office currently does by hand, and will save the county considerable money in the long run.

Martin explained that a lot of the documents his office handles come from out-of-state – 150 to 200 documents a day, all of which must be reviewed, filed, and mailed back

on the taxpayers' dime." The new system will allow most of these documents to be filed electronically with the push of a button, and with "no man hours expended." The decision on purchasing the new system, "is a no brainer," said Martin, explaining that the expenditure will be "revenue neutral" since a small percentage of each recording fee has been set aside over the years for the purpose of being able to update the system. "It's money we have been saving," he said.

Another focus of his first eight months in office is working with companies who compile data for genealogy researchers. Yellowstone County's Clerk and Recorders' office has digital records that begin in 1998, but to access records going back to 1883 require coming into the office and doing manual searches of documents.

One company has offered to digitize all of the county's back records for free so long as they can keep a copy of the data – "and all we have to provide is hospitality," said Martin. The offer is easily a $150,000 value to the county. The cost of digitizing an image is three to ten cents per document, explained Martin.

The county will still have to index the data and integrate it into its system, but it's still very worthwhile, in terms of improving access for the public and ensuring document preservation.

"At the end of the day," said Martin, "that's what we are here for – to serve the public."

Prior to becoming the Clerk and Recorder Martin was a real estate broker with Roger Beeter RE. Prior to that he was employed by a private recruiting firm.

Jeff and his wife, Tricia, have two children, Howie, 4, and Grady, 2.