Democrat
Michael Costello
Belleville
Age: 66
Married
Children: None
Job: St. Clair County recorder of deeds
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E-mail: user250249@aol.com
Education:
Previous offices: Board of Review, 1974 and re-elected 1980; St. Clair County recorder of deeds, 1984 to present.
Qualifications: I have more than 45 years of experience working with deeds, legal descriptions, plats etc. My experience ranges from physically surveying property, making divisions and consolidations of property, to of course the recordation of deeds, plats and other real estate related documentation. I also have more than 45 years experience in county government. My priorities as recorder have not changed during the past 28 years. I feel that it is my duty as recorder to keep the operating budget of my office to a minimum while increasing productivity and revenue. When I took office in 1984, the recorder's office cost the taxpayers of St. Clair County $204,000 a year. We now make a profit for the taxpayers, contributing more than $1 million a year to the general fund. In addition, under my leadership, this office was one of the first in the state to be fully automated and guarantee a 24-hour turn-around time on document recordation. Recently, we have begun eRecording, which allows vendors to submit, record and return documents to their customers the same business day. Remote records access has improved as well. Online searches are no longer provided by a one-size-fits-all website. We now offer three separate sites to choose from. Additionally, we are currently adding older documents to our database. In time, all of the historical documents maintained by my office will be available online. In the future I will continue to ensure that my office evolves with the technology of the times while remaining fiscally responsible.
