TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Cristal McDonald, City Clerk
PREPARED BY: Angela Martin Van der Baan, Records Manager
SUBJECT:
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Memorandum of Understanding for Use of the Government Portal for Electronic Document Recording
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Approve a Memorandum of Understanding between owner Counties and Government Participants for the use of the Secure Government to Government Portal for electronic recording for a term of five (5) years, with the option to extend the agreement for no more than one additional year; and
Authorize the City Manager to execute the Memorandum of Understanding.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
None.
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Maintain a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency.
BACKGROUND
Recording a document with the County Clerk-Recorder's Office makes it publicly accessible, establishes the priority of ownership or a claim to the property, helps create a traceable chain, and ensures a clear and verifiable history. Many legal processes and transactions require documents to be recorded to be valid and enforceable.
On September 20, 2018, the City of Murrieta (City) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Agreement for the use of the Statewide Electronic Courier Universal Recording Environment (SECURE), also known as the Secure Government to Government Portal (G2G). Since then, the City has utilized access to the portal to submit documents for recording where the City is one of the parties involved. The partnership facilitates the execution and expedites the recording process. The portal significantly reduces the staff time utilized to go in person to a County Clerk-Recorder office and the wait time to receive recorded documents via mail. However, there are some instances where the document requires it to be recorded in person at the County Clerk-Recorder office.
In addition to submitting a document for recordation through the in-office G2G portal, a document can be submitted by mail or in person at one of the County of Riverside Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder offices. The City Clerk department processes recordings for the City as a courtesy service to City departments. The partnership allows the City to be the submitting party, acting on behalf of itself and submitting its own documents. The partnership does not allow for the City to submit documents for recordation on behalf of others. Due to the accessibility and efficiency of submitting documents using the portal, the City Clerk's department would like to continue utilizing the portal.
FISCAL IMPACT
The California Government Code (§6103) exempts certain government entities and public officers from paying filing fees for court documents and other official services. Additionally, accessibility to the portal and the instruments required to record do not cost the City any money. Therefore, the fiscal impact is the time the City Clerk's Department Staff spends recording as-needed documents via the portal.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Memorandum of Understanding between Owner Counties and Government Participants for the Use of the Secure Government to Government (G2G) Portal