Recorder of deeds seeking seventh term
Washington County Recorder of Deeds Debbie Bardella announced she is seeking a seventh term in office.
Bardella, 66, of Speers, is perusing the Democratic nomination in the May 18 primary.
The office maintains real estate records, including deeds and mortgages and collects real estate transfer taxes.
“My extensive knowledge and experience of the operations and statutes relating to the office assures the continued efficiencies and professional conduct of the office without disruption,” Bardella said.
Bardella said her office collects over $26 million in revenue annually, and all audits have been “clean and without findings” while the office has been under budget each year she has served.
“I am most proud of having turned around an archaic system which took four to six weeks to record and return documents to the presenter,” she said. “Shortly after being elected in 1998, I established an instant recording system. Documents, whether submitted in person, by mail or by e-recording, are recorded within minutes and returned immediately back to the submitter.”
Also under Bardella’s leadership, Washington County was the first and still one of the few recorder’s offices in Pennsylvania to have all documents from 1781 to present day scanned and available in the office and on a website.
“My vision for the future continues to be the advancement of electronic recordings and the ongoing project of historic preservation,” she said. “As the first county office to e-record, 51% of our documents are recorded through this process. During my tenure, all deeds beginning in 1781 through 1893 have been preserved. Although original documents are not retained by the office, the documents are originally handwritten from that era.”
Bardella graduated from Avella High School in 1972, the same year she went to work in the recorder’s office as a clerk-typist. Bardella became assistant deputy recorder and deputy recorder before winning the elected office in 1997.