County records will be backed up electronically
BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - Flood waters from Hurricane Katrina destroyed millions of government records, never to be recovered again.

To make sure that never happens in New Jersey, Monmouth County is spearheading a backup system that promises to keep computer records safe from all kinds of disasters, including a nuclear attack.

Last Thursday afternoon, New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells visited Freehold to praise Monmouth County for proposing the computer program that she believes will serve as a model for the entire country.

Wells called the innovative e-records program "phenomenal," then announced the county will receive a $2.1 million grant to continue the program, including a $932,000 figure earmarked for the new mirror or backup site.

"I'm so glad you're doing this," Wells told the freeholders during an afternoon work session meeting. "It's really phenomenal. We're just so cutting edge in New Jersey and we just really need to market this to the rest of the country."

Active for over three years, the e-records Web site currently allows lawyers and banks to electronically file and record deeds, mortgages and other land title-related filings with 11 participating counties in New Jersey. The backup site will be a new addition to the program.

Karl Niederer, chairman of the state records committee, said if a flood or some other catastrophe occurred, participating counties "can go to that site and resume business the next day." The backup site will be located at a secure location, or "hot site," Niederer said.

"This is a national model," he explained, noting the most similar program is operated by the U.S. Department of Social Security, which has two main sites, Niederer said, one in the eastern United States and one in Colorado. The backup mirror site would come in handy, for example, "if there was a nuclear attack," Niederer said.

"That's kind of what this is all about," he added. "Of course, the defense department has a system too."

County Clerk M. Claire French was lauded by both the secretary of state and the freeholders for initiating the e-recording portal. French was also singled out for promoting the program to other counties in the state of which 11 now participate.

Visit the county's Web site at www.njcountyrecording.com.