June 9, 2022 • 16 mins
Long-time Chief of Staff for the Hamilton County Recorder’s Office David Pittinger gets into the details of the office’s efforts to modernize record keeping to improve accessibility and prevent fraud.
The Recorder’s Office just announced a new Real Estate Fraud Alert Service to alert those who enroll for the service of filings under their names, warning property owners to potentially fraudulent activity in real-time. The Recorder’s Office is also set to release over 6 million images this month, finishing a project to make Deed Books, Leases, Registered Land Documents, and Registered Land Certificates easily accessible to the public.
Tune in to hear about this and other free services for veterans, the Griffin Yeatman award, and the tumultuous history behind some of the oldest records in Hamilton County.
To sign up for the free Real Estate Fraud Alert Service, visit https://recordersoffice.hamilton-co.org/recording-notification-service.html
To nominate a person or project for the Griffin Yeatman Award, visit https://recordersoffice.hamilton-co.org/in_the_news/griffin_yeatman_award.html
To learn more about Hamilton County, Ohio, our services and job openings, visit hamiltoncountyohio.gov.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeff Aluotto (00:08):
Hello everyone and welcome to Heart and hustle in
Hamilton County, a podcastentirely dedicated to the people
and policies that form HamiltonCounty government in Ohio. Why
the name heart and hustle? Well,it best describes the public
servants who make our localgovernment work in our
community. Each episode focuseson creative solutions to the
(00:29):
challenges that our 49communities face. And as well as
how our different governmentdepartments are tackling those
challenges, really a localgovernment 101 For listeners who
are curious and want to learnmore, I'm your host, Jeff Ludo.
I'm the County Administratorwith Hamilton County and with
me, as always, is ourcommunication manager Bridget
Doherty. Hello, everyone. And Ialso want to give a special
(00:50):
welcome to our interns who arehere with us today Gabrielle
whaler and Madison Brown. Idon't know that you'll be able
to hear them, but they might bechiming in sometime during the
episode. So we just wanted tomake sure you had that context.
And today I am super excitedabout this episode because we
have been really pushing thisepisode for a while even though
(01:11):
it's been a while it took us awhile to extend the invite. But
today we're going to be divinginto the work of the Hamilton
County Recorders Office. So oneof the most important functions
of county government is ensuringthe protection of property and
real estate in the community.
Those records are much of whatwhen people in the community
think of as their home. Thoseare the records that are on file
(01:36):
preserved and protected and heldby the Hamilton County Recorders
Office. The recorders office wasestablished specifically to
record preserve and makeavailable for inspection
documents relating to realestate and involves the sale
Lease and Transfer of propertyas well as mortgages and liens
that would affect the title of apiece of property. And starting
(01:58):
this month. The Recorders Officeplans to release over 6 million
images, finishing a project tomake deed books, leases,
registered land documents andregistered land certificates
easily available to the public.
Joining us today is DavePittenger. He is the chief of
staff for the Hamilton CountyRecorder. He's going to discuss
(02:19):
the history of the office, therecorder scanning project, the
new real estate fraud alertservice free services for
veterans, and the Griffin Yetmanaward, among other interesting
tidbits about the office. SoDave, welcome to the show. And
before we get started talkingabout the office itself. I just
wanted to get to have the publicget to know you a little bit. So
(02:42):
tell us a little bit aboutyourself and your career with
Hamilton County.
Dave Pittinger (02:47):
Well, thank you, Jeff, on behalf of recorder
Crowley and myself, it's a realhonor to be here and to talk
about an office that I'm sureI'm a little biased, but I think
the recorders office is thenumber one office in Hamilton
County and here's why. I havebeen with the Hammond County
Recorders Office for almost 40years. I started as an intern at
the University of Cincinnati.
And I guess I never left. So I'mvery fortunate. I've worked for
(03:10):
several recorders, and stillcontinued to work here serving
the people of Hamilton County.
Jeff Aluotto (03:19):
And 40 years that's just absolutely amazing.
So first of all, on behalf ofthe Board and the county and the
residents of Hamilton County.
Dave, thank you for your serviceto Hamilton County. I know
you've served under, as you saidmultiple recorders is just a
testament to you and the otherstaff down there who have long
tenures as well as to how howwell you guys do your job. So
congratulations on a greatcareer. And thank you for your
(03:42):
service to Hamilton County. Whatspecifically for someone who
might not know anything aboutthe recorders office, tell us
some of the servicesspecifically the recorder
provides for Hamilton County.
Dave Pittinger (03:55):
Sure, Jeff, a lot of times I talk to my
friends, they think we dotraffic tickets, or we do all
kinds of court things. And I'mlike, I understand we record.
But what we record is realestate documents. And what that
means is I try to explain to alot of people, we're like a big
library. We're not the authorsof the books. We don't write the
books, we don't write titles,but we actually preserve them
(04:17):
and make them available ofpublic record. And when I
actually when I started we werewriting with pen, not a quill,
but in ink. And actually we'vegone a long, long way in the
office. So with my years ofexperience, they've been there.
I've got to do it all. So it'sbeen a big, big change. But
we're there to record, preserveand maintain real estate records
(04:37):
in Hamilton County.
Bridget Doherty (04:38):
So I love that you touched on the rich history
of the recorders office. Did youmention when it was established
Dave Pittinger (04:46):
by chance? Yeah, actually, we were one of the
very first offices in HamiltonCounty even before statehood in
1803. We were established inApril of 1794. So that's a
pretty good record and we stillhave those records almost back
to 1789 in our office to thisday, even handwritten, available
(05:06):
for the public to view. Alright,so
Jeff Aluotto (05:08):
we're just gonna go off the cuff here a little
bit. That's fascinating how oldsome of these records are. So
what? What is the oldest thatyou're aware of what is the
oldest set of records thatexists that you're aware of in
the story behind some of those?
Sure,
Dave Pittinger (05:24):
it would be our deed books. And that's the
transfer of the real estate fromone party to another. And then
later on, we got mortgages,leases, power of attorneys, and
subdivision maps, but better thedeeds are really the heart of
our documents.
Jeff Aluotto (05:38):
Got it. And so when people think about the
protection, you know, thehistory of this community, and
property history in thiscommunity, I have to think, when
you think of some of the thingsthat have happened in Hamilton
County, you know, we we've allheard about the courthouse fire
(05:59):
back in 1884. What is there? Ifyou're looking back through the
history of these documents, isthere a big gap in the record?
Did we experience a big loss ofdata in in history at that point
in time? Or how did that how didthe fire implicate the recorders
office?
Dave Pittinger (06:16):
Actually, we were very lucky. I don't know if
at the time they also thoughtthat maybe the record was the
best office in Hamilton County.
But as the fire and Riot movedon, just about every single
county office was destroyed, thecourthouse that we have today
that was dedicated 1913 sits onthe site of the 1884, Riot and
fire and how the books got savedfor the recorder, they
(06:37):
determined it was so important,they were throwing the books out
the window, put him in horsecarts, and took them to a grist
mill to save them. So we werevery, very fortunate. We even
have one and a historicalsociety that has the burnt
edges, and they've beentranscribed over the years. But
that's why we get the honor ofsaying we have the oldest set of
records, pretty much becauseeverybody else's records burned
up.
Bridget Doherty (06:58):
So if with this history and all these singe
documents that you have, who'sthe person that comes in to try
to go through these documents?
Who is that person from thepublic?
Dave Pittinger (07:11):
The advantage that we have now we've been able
to scan so many things, but it'sgenealogist it's it's scholars?
It's really people all over theboard. I mean, you would think
it's just historians, it is not,there's been so much with the
internet now, of people doingfamily histories. In the old
days, people would have to writein and we would have to try to
(07:32):
research it would take weeks,months, years, you know, who
knows. But now they can justfreely pull them up 24/7. And
that's the amazing part now.
Bridget Doherty (07:41):
So when you talk about this massive scanning
project that you have going on,I understand you received some
grant money to get this scandone, and how is that affecting
the public?
Dave Pittinger (07:52):
Absolutely. I mean, we're so grateful to the
administration here with amlak.
County, Jeff and your team, thatof COVID. Some bad things
obviously have happened withCOVID. But one of the good
things was is some of the moneythat did go to the county
agencies. And we were able toback scan over a million images.
And we're now working on 6million images, which we hope to
have up this month we'reloading. But that will give us
(08:12):
almost a full fledge except fora few mortgages and releases
that we have to do that willgive us every single document
from 1789 all the way to thecurrent date online for people
to access and for free, itdoesn't cost anything, anybody
can log in and look at them. Andit's really been a great
service. So thank you again,Jeff, for your leadership for
letting us be able to do this.
Bridget Doherty (08:38):
And so are they missing? Are they logging in off
your website? Yes, they are.
Okay, so we'll make sure that welink to your website on this
podcast where you get it. Andalso you handle more than just
real estate documents. Can youdiscuss your role in maintaining
military discharge documents?
Dave Pittinger (08:56):
Absolutely.
That's something that's dearnear to the recorder, because he
is a marine. And he also was aprosecutor. So he wanted to make
sure that we give back to ourveterans who have served us so
well. And we have documents thatcome in and they're called DD
214. Now what a DT DD 214 is, isthe service discharge when a
(09:16):
person gets out of service, andthey're allowed to record that
on a county level for free. Andwe can give you a certified
copy, which that also allows youto do is to get a veteran's ID.
Jeff Aluotto (09:28):
And so on that note, Dave, you do other things,
as you said for veterans, so youdo veterans ID cards, as you
mentioned, what are some of thebenefits that a veteran locally
might have for obtaining one ofthose ID cards.
Dave Pittinger (09:41):
We have on our website, a list of a lot of the
merchants that will givediscounts. So it's really been a
great partnership with ourbusiness community as well. That
they can get the card once theycome in and have their DD 214 on
file. They can make anappointment or even just walk in
and either by calling us or justcoming in on a daily basis. We
will make the Veterans ID card.
And then once you have thatcard, you can use a lot of the
(10:02):
services that are out there toget discounts.
Jeff Aluotto (10:07):
That's fantastic.
And thanks to your office for,for continuing to do I know the
record is extremely proud ofthat. And speaking of
initiatives that I know theoffice is very proud of, you
only have to flip on the radioright now just to hear all the
different services that areavailable as it relates to
property fraud, real estatefraud, etc. And your office, the
(10:28):
Office of the recorder hasgotten into now providing a
fraud protection service, afraud notification service to
county residents. So talk alittle bit if you would about
how that notification systemworks and how it the service can
help prevent fraud and HamiltonCounty
Dave Pittinger (10:48):
absolutely recorded Crowley that was one of
the things that he wanted to dowhen he came into office we
started last year. And we'vebeen working very hard to get
this up and running. And you dohear a lot of commercials about
it is one of the fastest growingcrimes in the United States is
titled fraud, or fraud by takingsomebody's name or their
property, you do hear companiesout there that provide a
(11:10):
service. And sometimes they'llsay they're locking a title,
nobody can lock a title. Butwhat they can do is be notified
in those services do cost money,they are providing a service.
But that's the one thing that wewant to make sure that we can
provide through Hamilton County,free of charge. And we just were
able to bring that up and putthat online for people in
Hamilton County. And thatstarted since at the end of
(11:32):
April. So all they have to do islog on to our website. And then
it'll have a link that they canthen put in whatever names that
they want to be followed andhave an email address. And what
we'll do is then also give you aconfirmation to make sure that
it's really you. And once youset it up, you can change it or
change the names. But anydocument that would come in
under the hammock countyrecorders office, from the date
(11:53):
of them signing up, they wouldget notification. So sometimes a
person really wouldn't know theyhad a document, so no problem.
But let's say they didn't, theywould then know immediately that
something has happened theirproperty instead of waiting
months or years down the roadwhen they do a title exam or
within somebody's trying to taketheir property.
Jeff Aluotto (12:10):
Got it in Bridgette I'm assuming we can
link that sign up into the thenotes on the show as well. So if
you're listening to this, andyou want to find out how to sign
up for that, go to the notes onthe show and and you'll be able
to hit the link directly fromthere.
Dave Pittinger (12:23):
And we've had a lot of people asking for it. And
once we released it, it's been areally huge success. And so
we're very proud to makesomething through Hamlin county
that we can do for free.
Bridget Doherty (12:32):
Do you have any like stories on how this is
helped? Or have you had any hitsso far?
Dave Pittinger (12:39):
Absolutely. I'm the one that usually has to take
documents over to court, whenthe prosecutor does have a case,
what we have found in some ofthe studies is that counties
that do use a notificationservice, the criminal stay away
from it, because it's almostlike a big dog in your front
yard. You're not sure if thatdog is gonna bite you or he's
gonna love you. But who wants totake that chance? So that's how
(12:59):
we look at the fraudnotification. We're gonna take a
bite out of crime.
Bridget Doherty (13:03):
Great. So can you tell us a little bit about I
know you have a service awardthat I just recently found out
about, called the GriffinYeatman award? Can you give us a
little bit of the backstory onthat?
Dave Pittinger (13:14):
Absolutely. In 1994 we noticed so many people
in Hamilton County are unsungheroes. And they really work
hard for Hamilton County.
They're volunteers. They givetheir time and effort. And there
really wasn't any way to kind ofreward them in a sense because
they're unsung heroes and theydon't want the reward. They
don't want the accolades. So wenamed it after Griffin Haven who
was the first electric recorderin Hamilton County. Some of you
(13:37):
probably have heard of Yemen'sCove. And there actually even
used to be a tavern that calledthe square in the conference.
And that's actually where countybusiness was being done. And the
historical side even has aPunchbowl that was used for
community service. And but wedon't have that fungible anymore
of here. But the award kind ofwent to make sure these unsung
heroes in the first awardactually went to Bill graver,
(13:59):
who was the man that determinedthat none of the records were
destroyed in the recordersoffice, it was a numbering
system. And even the Mormons hadlisted that our records and
burned in a fire. And then wefound out that wasn't true. So
since then, we have been givingawards to the unsung heroes. And
it can be for a person thatworks for Historical Society, or
not even work but volunteer. Soit's those unsung people,
(14:21):
places, preservation, thingsthat are really important to our
community that sometimes thepress doesn't always cover. And
so we are still takingnominations for this year. And
that's also on our website.
We've extended it out becausewe've had a lot of interest this
year. So please reach out to usif you'd like and make a
(14:41):
nomination to somebody.
Jeff Aluotto (14:44):
So again, Dave, if you could, if someone does know
someone, how do they go aboutapplying for that? Would that
just be directly through thewebsite or what's the what's the
best means to go about applyingfor the award?
Dave Pittinger (14:56):
Yeah, that's actually the best way Jeff. We
have a link that's right on Itsays Griffin, you even if they
click on that, it will give anexplanation. It will also show
all the previous winners andpictures of them. And but it has
a form that you can download, orjust send it in and we'll
definitely put it underconsideration.
Jeff Aluotto (15:14):
Fantastic. Well, Dave, I want to just take this
opportunity again to thank youpersonally for all of your
service to Hamilton County andthe residents of Hamilton
County. I want to thank recorderCrowley and all the staff of the
Hamilton County Recorders Officefor all that you all do each and
every day for a in an officethat really when you think about
(15:39):
county government is designed toprotect and preserve one of the
most fundamental pillars of oursociety, and that is private
property and property rights inthe community. And you guys I
can say from my experienceworking with you over these
years. You guys do a fantastic,best in class job at it. So
Dave, thank you. Thank you forbeing with us today. No problem.
(16:02):
And, and thanks to all of youfor listening to season two,
episode two of heart and hustlein Hamilton County. A reminder
to subscribe on Apple podcast,Spotify and other providers. You
can find the podcast on ourwebsite, Hamilton County
ohio.gov on the countyadministrator's page. So on
behalf of my co host BridgetDoherty and our guest producers
(16:25):
today Gabrielle whaler andMadison Brown. I want to thank
all of you and we'll see younext time on Episode three
season two of heart and hustlein Hamilton County.
Hello everyone and welcome to Heart and hustle in
Hamilton County, a podcastentirely dedicated to the people
and policies that form HamiltonCounty government in Ohio. Why
the name heart and hustle? Well,it best describes the public
servants who make our localgovernment work in our
community. Each episode focuseson creative solutions to the
(00:29):
challenges that our 49communities face. And as well as
how our different governmentdepartments are tackling those
challenges, really a localgovernment 101 For listeners who
are curious and want to learnmore, I'm your host, Jeff Ludo.
I'm the County Administratorwith Hamilton County and with
me, as always, is ourcommunication manager Bridget
Doherty. Hello, everyone. And Ialso want to give a special
(00:50):
welcome to our interns who arehere with us today Gabrielle
whaler and Madison Brown. Idon't know that you'll be able
to hear them, but they might bechiming in sometime during the
episode. So we just wanted tomake sure you had that context.
And today I am super excitedabout this episode because we
have been really pushing thisepisode for a while even though
(01:11):
it's been a while it took us awhile to extend the invite. But
today we're going to be divinginto the work of the Hamilton
County Recorders Office. So oneof the most important functions
of county government is ensuringthe protection of property and
real estate in the community.
Those records are much of whatwhen people in the community
think of as their home. Thoseare the records that are on file
(01:36):
preserved and protected and heldby the Hamilton County Recorders
Office. The recorders office wasestablished specifically to
record preserve and makeavailable for inspection
documents relating to realestate and involves the sale
Lease and Transfer of propertyas well as mortgages and liens
that would affect the title of apiece of property. And starting
(01:58):
this month. The Recorders Officeplans to release over 6 million
images, finishing a project tomake deed books, leases,
registered land documents andregistered land certificates
easily available to the public.
Joining us today is DavePittenger. He is the chief of
staff for the Hamilton CountyRecorder. He's going to discuss
(02:19):
the history of the office, therecorder scanning project, the
new real estate fraud alertservice free services for
veterans, and the Griffin Yetmanaward, among other interesting
tidbits about the office. SoDave, welcome to the show. And
before we get started talkingabout the office itself. I just
wanted to get to have the publicget to know you a little bit. So
(02:42):
tell us a little bit aboutyourself and your career with
Hamilton County.
Dave Pittinger (02:47):
Well, thank you, Jeff, on behalf of recorder
Crowley and myself, it's a realhonor to be here and to talk
about an office that I'm sureI'm a little biased, but I think
the recorders office is thenumber one office in Hamilton
County and here's why. I havebeen with the Hammond County
Recorders Office for almost 40years. I started as an intern at
the University of Cincinnati.
And I guess I never left. So I'mvery fortunate. I've worked for
(03:10):
several recorders, and stillcontinued to work here serving
the people of Hamilton County.
Jeff Aluotto (03:19):
And 40 years that's just absolutely amazing.
So first of all, on behalf ofthe Board and the county and the
residents of Hamilton County.
Dave, thank you for your serviceto Hamilton County. I know
you've served under, as you saidmultiple recorders is just a
testament to you and the otherstaff down there who have long
tenures as well as to how howwell you guys do your job. So
congratulations on a greatcareer. And thank you for your
(03:42):
service to Hamilton County. Whatspecifically for someone who
might not know anything aboutthe recorders office, tell us
some of the servicesspecifically the recorder
provides for Hamilton County.
Dave Pittinger (03:55):
Sure, Jeff, a lot of times I talk to my
friends, they think we dotraffic tickets, or we do all
kinds of court things. And I'mlike, I understand we record.
But what we record is realestate documents. And what that
means is I try to explain to alot of people, we're like a big
library. We're not the authorsof the books. We don't write the
books, we don't write titles,but we actually preserve them
(04:17):
and make them available ofpublic record. And when I
actually when I started we werewriting with pen, not a quill,
but in ink. And actually we'vegone a long, long way in the
office. So with my years ofexperience, they've been there.
I've got to do it all. So it'sbeen a big, big change. But
we're there to record, preserveand maintain real estate records
(04:37):
in Hamilton County.
Bridget Doherty (04:38):
So I love that you touched on the rich history
of the recorders office. Did youmention when it was established
Dave Pittinger (04:46):
by chance? Yeah, actually, we were one of the
very first offices in HamiltonCounty even before statehood in
1803. We were established inApril of 1794. So that's a
pretty good record and we stillhave those records almost back
to 1789 in our office to thisday, even handwritten, available
(05:06):
for the public to view. Alright,so
Jeff Aluotto (05:08):
we're just gonna go off the cuff here a little
bit. That's fascinating how oldsome of these records are. So
what? What is the oldest thatyou're aware of what is the
oldest set of records thatexists that you're aware of in
the story behind some of those?
Sure,
Dave Pittinger (05:24):
it would be our deed books. And that's the
transfer of the real estate fromone party to another. And then
later on, we got mortgages,leases, power of attorneys, and
subdivision maps, but better thedeeds are really the heart of
our documents.
Jeff Aluotto (05:38):
Got it. And so when people think about the
protection, you know, thehistory of this community, and
property history in thiscommunity, I have to think, when
you think of some of the thingsthat have happened in Hamilton
County, you know, we we've allheard about the courthouse fire
(05:59):
back in 1884. What is there? Ifyou're looking back through the
history of these documents, isthere a big gap in the record?
Did we experience a big loss ofdata in in history at that point
in time? Or how did that how didthe fire implicate the recorders
office?
Dave Pittinger (06:16):
Actually, we were very lucky. I don't know if
at the time they also thoughtthat maybe the record was the
best office in Hamilton County.
But as the fire and Riot movedon, just about every single
county office was destroyed, thecourthouse that we have today
that was dedicated 1913 sits onthe site of the 1884, Riot and
fire and how the books got savedfor the recorder, they
(06:37):
determined it was so important,they were throwing the books out
the window, put him in horsecarts, and took them to a grist
mill to save them. So we werevery, very fortunate. We even
have one and a historicalsociety that has the burnt
edges, and they've beentranscribed over the years. But
that's why we get the honor ofsaying we have the oldest set of
records, pretty much becauseeverybody else's records burned
up.
Bridget Doherty (06:58):
So if with this history and all these singe
documents that you have, who'sthe person that comes in to try
to go through these documents?
Who is that person from thepublic?
Dave Pittinger (07:11):
The advantage that we have now we've been able
to scan so many things, but it'sgenealogist it's it's scholars?
It's really people all over theboard. I mean, you would think
it's just historians, it is not,there's been so much with the
internet now, of people doingfamily histories. In the old
days, people would have to writein and we would have to try to
(07:32):
research it would take weeks,months, years, you know, who
knows. But now they can justfreely pull them up 24/7. And
that's the amazing part now.
Bridget Doherty (07:41):
So when you talk about this massive scanning
project that you have going on,I understand you received some
grant money to get this scandone, and how is that affecting
the public?
Dave Pittinger (07:52):
Absolutely. I mean, we're so grateful to the
administration here with amlak.
County, Jeff and your team, thatof COVID. Some bad things
obviously have happened withCOVID. But one of the good
things was is some of the moneythat did go to the county
agencies. And we were able toback scan over a million images.
And we're now working on 6million images, which we hope to
have up this month we'reloading. But that will give us
(08:12):
almost a full fledge except fora few mortgages and releases
that we have to do that willgive us every single document
from 1789 all the way to thecurrent date online for people
to access and for free, itdoesn't cost anything, anybody
can log in and look at them. Andit's really been a great
service. So thank you again,Jeff, for your leadership for
letting us be able to do this.
Bridget Doherty (08:38):
And so are they missing? Are they logging in off
your website? Yes, they are.
Okay, so we'll make sure that welink to your website on this
podcast where you get it. Andalso you handle more than just
real estate documents. Can youdiscuss your role in maintaining
military discharge documents?
Dave Pittinger (08:56):
Absolutely.
That's something that's dearnear to the recorder, because he
is a marine. And he also was aprosecutor. So he wanted to make
sure that we give back to ourveterans who have served us so
well. And we have documents thatcome in and they're called DD
214. Now what a DT DD 214 is, isthe service discharge when a
(09:16):
person gets out of service, andthey're allowed to record that
on a county level for free. Andwe can give you a certified
copy, which that also allows youto do is to get a veteran's ID.
Jeff Aluotto (09:28):
And so on that note, Dave, you do other things,
as you said for veterans, so youdo veterans ID cards, as you
mentioned, what are some of thebenefits that a veteran locally
might have for obtaining one ofthose ID cards.
Dave Pittinger (09:41):
We have on our website, a list of a lot of the
merchants that will givediscounts. So it's really been a
great partnership with ourbusiness community as well. That
they can get the card once theycome in and have their DD 214 on
file. They can make anappointment or even just walk in
and either by calling us or justcoming in on a daily basis. We
will make the Veterans ID card.
And then once you have thatcard, you can use a lot of the
(10:02):
services that are out there toget discounts.
Jeff Aluotto (10:07):
That's fantastic.
And thanks to your office for,for continuing to do I know the
record is extremely proud ofthat. And speaking of
initiatives that I know theoffice is very proud of, you
only have to flip on the radioright now just to hear all the
different services that areavailable as it relates to
property fraud, real estatefraud, etc. And your office, the
(10:28):
Office of the recorder hasgotten into now providing a
fraud protection service, afraud notification service to
county residents. So talk alittle bit if you would about
how that notification systemworks and how it the service can
help prevent fraud and HamiltonCounty
Dave Pittinger (10:48):
absolutely recorded Crowley that was one of
the things that he wanted to dowhen he came into office we
started last year. And we'vebeen working very hard to get
this up and running. And you dohear a lot of commercials about
it is one of the fastest growingcrimes in the United States is
titled fraud, or fraud by takingsomebody's name or their
property, you do hear companiesout there that provide a
(11:10):
service. And sometimes they'llsay they're locking a title,
nobody can lock a title. Butwhat they can do is be notified
in those services do cost money,they are providing a service.
But that's the one thing that wewant to make sure that we can
provide through Hamilton County,free of charge. And we just were
able to bring that up and putthat online for people in
Hamilton County. And thatstarted since at the end of
(11:32):
April. So all they have to do islog on to our website. And then
it'll have a link that they canthen put in whatever names that
they want to be followed andhave an email address. And what
we'll do is then also give you aconfirmation to make sure that
it's really you. And once youset it up, you can change it or
change the names. But anydocument that would come in
under the hammock countyrecorders office, from the date
(11:53):
of them signing up, they wouldget notification. So sometimes a
person really wouldn't know theyhad a document, so no problem.
But let's say they didn't, theywould then know immediately that
something has happened theirproperty instead of waiting
months or years down the roadwhen they do a title exam or
within somebody's trying to taketheir property.
Jeff Aluotto (12:10):
Got it in Bridgette I'm assuming we can
link that sign up into the thenotes on the show as well. So if
you're listening to this, andyou want to find out how to sign
up for that, go to the notes onthe show and and you'll be able
to hit the link directly fromthere.
Dave Pittinger (12:23):
And we've had a lot of people asking for it. And
once we released it, it's been areally huge success. And so
we're very proud to makesomething through Hamlin county
that we can do for free.
Bridget Doherty (12:32):
Do you have any like stories on how this is
helped? Or have you had any hitsso far?
Dave Pittinger (12:39):
Absolutely. I'm the one that usually has to take
documents over to court, whenthe prosecutor does have a case,
what we have found in some ofthe studies is that counties
that do use a notificationservice, the criminal stay away
from it, because it's almostlike a big dog in your front
yard. You're not sure if thatdog is gonna bite you or he's
gonna love you. But who wants totake that chance? So that's how
(12:59):
we look at the fraudnotification. We're gonna take a
bite out of crime.
Bridget Doherty (13:03):
Great. So can you tell us a little bit about I
know you have a service awardthat I just recently found out
about, called the GriffinYeatman award? Can you give us a
little bit of the backstory onthat?
Dave Pittinger (13:14):
Absolutely. In 1994 we noticed so many people
in Hamilton County are unsungheroes. And they really work
hard for Hamilton County.
They're volunteers. They givetheir time and effort. And there
really wasn't any way to kind ofreward them in a sense because
they're unsung heroes and theydon't want the reward. They
don't want the accolades. So wenamed it after Griffin Haven who
was the first electric recorderin Hamilton County. Some of you
(13:37):
probably have heard of Yemen'sCove. And there actually even
used to be a tavern that calledthe square in the conference.
And that's actually where countybusiness was being done. And the
historical side even has aPunchbowl that was used for
community service. And but wedon't have that fungible anymore
of here. But the award kind ofwent to make sure these unsung
heroes in the first awardactually went to Bill graver,
(13:59):
who was the man that determinedthat none of the records were
destroyed in the recordersoffice, it was a numbering
system. And even the Mormons hadlisted that our records and
burned in a fire. And then wefound out that wasn't true. So
since then, we have been givingawards to the unsung heroes. And
it can be for a person thatworks for Historical Society, or
not even work but volunteer. Soit's those unsung people,
(14:21):
places, preservation, thingsthat are really important to our
community that sometimes thepress doesn't always cover. And
so we are still takingnominations for this year. And
that's also on our website.
We've extended it out becausewe've had a lot of interest this
year. So please reach out to usif you'd like and make a
(14:41):
nomination to somebody.
Jeff Aluotto (14:44):
So again, Dave, if you could, if someone does know
someone, how do they go aboutapplying for that? Would that
just be directly through thewebsite or what's the what's the
best means to go about applyingfor the award?
Dave Pittinger (14:56):
Yeah, that's actually the best way Jeff. We
have a link that's right on Itsays Griffin, you even if they
click on that, it will give anexplanation. It will also show
all the previous winners andpictures of them. And but it has
a form that you can download, orjust send it in and we'll
definitely put it underconsideration.
Jeff Aluotto (15:14):
Fantastic. Well, Dave, I want to just take this
opportunity again to thank youpersonally for all of your
service to Hamilton County andthe residents of Hamilton
County. I want to thank recorderCrowley and all the staff of the
Hamilton County Recorders Officefor all that you all do each and
every day for a in an officethat really when you think about
(15:39):
county government is designed toprotect and preserve one of the
most fundamental pillars of oursociety, and that is private
property and property rights inthe community. And you guys I
can say from my experienceworking with you over these
years. You guys do a fantastic,best in class job at it. So
Dave, thank you. Thank you forbeing with us today. No problem.
(16:02):
And, and thanks to all of youfor listening to season two,
episode two of heart and hustlein Hamilton County. A reminder
to subscribe on Apple podcast,Spotify and other providers. You
can find the podcast on ourwebsite, Hamilton County
ohio.gov on the countyadministrator's page. So on
behalf of my co host BridgetDoherty and our guest producers
(16:25):
today Gabrielle whaler andMadison Brown. I want to thank
all of you and we'll see younext time on Episode three
season two of heart and hustlein Hamilton County.
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