SuperClerk Andrea Naugle: "I am Here to Protect the Records"

Last week, I told you that Lehigh County's Clerk of Judicial Records Andrea Naugle, whom I refer to as Superclerk, is giving title searchers the bum's rush. As part of a goofy idea to create "one stop shopping" for title searchers, heirs, murderers and beaten wives, all of those functions are going to be combined in one happy office.

Maybe they'll even have a drive in window. "Would you like fries with that Deed?"

At the time I first wrote about this, it was too late in the day for me to get Naugle's side of the story. Being the bottom feeding blogger that I am, I went ahead and published my story anyway, but promised you I would use the Superclerk-Signal.

I met with her yesterday.

This might surprise you, but back in 2006, before voters decided to consolidate Lehigh County's row offices, Andrea was my guest on a talk radio show. At that time, she was the Clerk of Courts, and opposed a consolidation. So did I. So did both of the County parties.

Despite claims of modernization and saving money, my opinion was that neither would happen. Instead, we'd have a superclerk who would be hopelessly incompetent to deal with the intricacies of three very different offices that perform different functions and use different systems. It creates another layer of bureaucracy that will actually end up costing money.

Voters thought differently, and Naugle ran for and won the job she actually opposed because her own position was being eliminated. But she conceded yesterday that there is simply no way she can be intimately familiar with day-to-day operations in the row offices under her.

One of the first things she did do is install a very effective computer system for Deeds, called Landex. That system can be remotely accessed in 24 different Pennsylvania Counties, and is highly regarded by searchers. I failed to point that out in my first story, and to be fair, should have done so.

Naugle also pointed out that this consolidation has actually been in planning since 2004, two years before voters were even asked to approve it. She claimed she really has no choice in this matter, although she conceded that perhaps she should have voiced her concerns.

I hammered away, particularly at her failure to include title searchers in a decision that will have a drastic impact on how they do their job. Instead of having record books at their fingertips, they will have to look at images on a computer screen. And if they are not lucky enough to get on one of only 16 available terminals, they'll have to pay. Just to look.

Kinda' like a porn site. Or so I hear.

She's handled this with all the diplomatic acumen of a sledge hammer. She explained she was just "teasing" when she told searchers not to bother wearing their Winter coats. And she insists that the environment at their new digs must be library-like because of the cramped quarters - 23' x 44'. She promised there will be counter and table space.

She really had no adequate explanation for her refusal to tell searchers where the records are going. "Why do they have to know?" she asked. Umm, maybe because they are official records and title searchers are concerned that those records might be destroyed or damaged. She then told me the records are being stored at "several" locations within County archives.

A very serious person, her primary goal is the integrity of Lehigh County's records. She tells me that many pages are being torn from constant use, although some of that is certainly the result of Lehigh's decision to use cheap paper. What she fails to realize is that searchers are just as concerned as she is about those records.

"I am not here to antagonize Lehigh County searchers," she stated. "I am here to protect the records and maintain them properly." She told me that part of the opposition comes from a general disdain for change, and that complaints are only coming from a "handful of people."

I think she's way off on that point. I spoke to numerous searchers in both Counties, and know of just one person who actually supports this move. From a title searcher's perspective, it's nutz.

It's too late to stop. The move starts tomorrow.

What's going into the soon-to-be-vacant third floor government center office? Allentown Mayor Edwin Pawkowski would probably like to put another restaurant in there, but I'm told some Human Services offices will be taking over.

On the bright side, Andrea tells me that map books will stay. In addition, she is "working" on changes to the fee structure for remote access, but declines to be specific until she knows exactly what she can deliver.