Name: Penny Rich
Age: 66
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/pennyrich
Occupation and employer: Assistant Clerk of Superior Court – The State of NC
1) Please tell us what in your record as a public official or private citizen demonstrates your ability to be an effective Register of Deeds? What would you cite as your biggest career accomplishments?
I am a long-time public official in Orange County with extensive local government service. For over 25 years in various leadership positions, I have found the balance needed to be strong, supportive and successful. I believe a true leader must challenge themself to listen, learn, respect and build bridges to make our community a place for everyone to have a meaningful life. I am committed to making the Register of Deeds office a comfortable environment for our Deeds deputies, attorneys, real estate agents, title search agents and pro-se residents searching for important public documents.
I moved to Chapel Hill in 1998 and was appointed to the town’s Technology Advisory board before I got a chance to unpack my boxes. I earned a master’s degree in Communication Technology from New York University, and used this knowledge to help navigate the overhaul of the town’s website. In 2001, I was appointed by the town of Chapel Hill to the OWASA Board of Directors and served 6 years, two as Vice Chair. At that time our county experienced a historic drought, a major crisis that required strong leadership to educate the public about water conservation. As chair of the (NRTS) Natural Resources and Technical Systems committee I led the board to create year-round conservation policies that are still in place today.
In 2009 I was elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council where I helped create policy to enhance town departments including land use, planning, public transit, and economic development. The Mayor appointed me to the Sustainability Energy and Environment committee, and the Historic Rogers Road Task Force to examine and report to the full council about how climate change disproportionately affected our lower income neighborhoods and how to better serve the Rogers Road community with the expansion of a community center and city water and sewer capabilities.
In 2012 I was elected to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners and served two terms, including time as Vice Chair 2016-2018 and Chair 2018-2020. There my priorities shifted to Economic Development and business recruitment to create local jobs and lessen the tax burden on our residents. In late 2019 the country began to experience the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the BOCC chair I was elevated to the chief elected official in the county and was charged to lead our response team. This was my second time in 20 years leading my community through a major crisis, and I stepped up and stepped out to lead Orange County through this devastating pandemic. I am proud to have received 3 awards for my outstanding leadership from Emergency Services, the Chapel Hill Chamber of Commerce and former Governor Roy Cooper.
I continued to fine tune my leadership skills in the UNC School of Government Ambassador Program (graduating in class three in 2015) and regularly attend classes offered as an Assistant Clerk of Court. I believe my years of service in many areas have prepared me to be a present, focused and an effective leader at the Register of Deeds office.
2) Describe the extent of your archival knowledge of Orange County’s public records system.
The Register of Deeds office is the custodian of public records for Orange County. This includes but is not limited to recording and preserving real estate documents (deeds, deeds of trust, plat), issuing certified copies (birth, death, marriage), and maintaining indexes, allowing for public search and retrieval of records. Once recorded, they become official records with the ROD office legally responsible for their integrity and safekeeping.
Electronic recording or E-Recording must follow the rules of record keeping under NC law. Incoming records are reviewed to assure the filing is complete and meets compliance standards. In Orange County records run through an outside vendor specifically focused on records management principals. Once accepted, documents become official records and are indexed and can be searched by name, date or instrument type. This is very similar to the E-Courts system we are currently using in the courthouse. When Orange County converted to the E-Courts system, I led my division making the transition with ease. I have since assisted other counties across NC with their conversions and continue to lead a team of assistants and deputies statewide. Public access to records is vital to many businesses and residents for legal research and personal purposes. Over the past couple of years the ROD office has taken on the task of indexing older historical records to make them easier to access. This process continues with records being preserved on-site and with back ups held by NC State Archives.
Orange County uses a property index tool Parcel Identification Number (PIN) which is a unique identifier of a parcel of land held in the county’s property records. The PIN is used to keep track of ownership and related public records including deeds, deeds of trust, easements, tax and land records. In the Estates Division, I use the GIS ARIES and PIN system on a daily basis to confirm ownership of land before it can be transferred as per a will, testate or administration, intestate, to heirs. The PIN helps with current ownership of real property in addition to history of the property by indexing related documents. A large percent of land transfer occurs when an owner dies and leaves property to their heirs. As an Assistant Clerk and Judge of Probate, I work with the Register of Deeds Office, Orange County Land Records, and the Orange County Tax Office to make sure this transfer is conducted legally, as per state statutes, and with ease.
3) What do you see as the three biggest challenges facing the Register of Deeds’ Office? How would you work to mitigate those challenges?
Technology. Now that almost all record keeping is E-Filed, the ROD office has to outsource its technology to outside vendors. This can make the user frustrated as filing can be challenging and in some cases rejected. The solution I have found helpful in the E-Courts system is to build strong relationships with vendors and keep communications open to alleviate complications as they surface. If you have ever wanted to throw your computer out the window, you understand the frustration technology can add to what may seem like a simple task.
Website. It’s just not good. The search function is acceptable but the Birth and Death Certificate page is visibly horrible. My 8th grade teacher would have given me a failing grade if I created a page where words were broken down and spaced like this. There are days the link that gets you to the application is broken and says “page not found”. This may not be a ROD issue, rather a county problem, but they have to know it happens in order to fix it. Communication is the key. The Passport page has not been updated since 2022, 4 years ago. Certainly there have been changes and updates to the process. Lastly, take a look at the Orange County Register of Deeds Association website page (https://www.ncard.us/find-your-register-of-deeds/orange-county/). This hasn’t been updated since 2014 – yep, 12 years ago. It still has me listed as a County Commissioner! We need to fix this.
Leadership. A leader needs to be present. Not only in the office, but active with other divisions and other leaders in the organization. A leader needs to build relationships with internal and external partners to grow a team ready to serve the public at any time. A leader needs to step outside the comfort zone and explore other opportunities to share with colleagues. Continued education is imperative for strong leadership and we are truly blessed to be in a county that houses the UNC School of Government, offering classes and workshops to assist elected officials and leaders, helping them learn, grow and achieve excellence.
4) Do you believe the Register of Deeds’ Office is operating at maximum efficiency? If not, what ideas do you have to make it more efficient?
I think I will need to examine the work flow and collaborate with the current staff to look for enhancements to enrich the end users experience while working within our annual budget (currently 1.4 million dollars). The staff is the front line and should always be respected and included in important changes, decisions, and improvements. It is important to listen to the regular users of the office, attorneys, real estate agents, title search agents, surveyors, as well as the public to incorporate suggestions into our operations. A few things I have learned from ROD’s across the state is that we can be more active with the Register of Deeds Association and participate and share ideas across counties. We are lucky to have a wonderful resource, UNC School of Government. I intend to continue my relationship with UNC leadership, taking advantage of their expertise and class offerings to elevate the ROD office.
5) Do you believe employees in the Register of Deeds’ Office should be permitted to refuse to perform duties on religious grounds? If so, under what circumstances?
The Register of Deeds office’s sole responsibility is to serve the public with no exceptions, full stop. County staff working in a public office should understand this before accepting a job in the Deeds office.
6) What steps would you take or technology would you use to make the clerk’s office more user friendly and accessible to the public?
The most important job of a County Commissioner is to pass a budget. This is true with any governing body. While serving 8 years on the BOCC I reviewed and approved the Register of Deeds budget enabling additional funding each year to update systems and introduce state of the art technology. Two areas where I believe we can excel technologically are 1) allowing integrated searches of vital records with the Clerk of Courts Estates division; and 2) leveraging AI to automate data processing.
A large percent of land transfers begin at the Clerk of Superior Court – Estate division. In many cases we need to contact the deeds office to help with vital records such as death certificates. This tends to slow the process down. While traveling the state this year, working to install Enterprise Justice E-Courts in all 100 counties, I discovered some counties’ deeds offices integrate the Estates division into their system, allowing vital records to be viewed and uploaded to the case file. I believe we can do this in Orange County by adjusting access, allowing clerks to perform a search as needed.
AI – As AI shifts from experimental to a standard tool, the deeds office has to follow suit to improve daily operations; enhance accuracy, security and public accessibility. I will research and suggest AI systems to improve and automate document processing focusing on critical data and enhance fraud detection in real time. In addition AI is being used to automatically redact sensitive information, now being done by staff in Orange County, eating up time that can be spent on assisting the public. I would like to explore Zero-Click Record Management systems where AI autofills metadata and classifies documents ensuring digital records are immediately searchable.
While AI is the future, it also brings new challenges as documents that are forged can look convincing and outdated information may not reflect new statutes and legal standards. It will be important to provide opportunities to educate our staff, as AI does not replace human judgement when dealing with legal interpretation and oversight.
7) Identify and explain one principled stand you would be willing to take if elected that you suspect might cost you some points with voters.
Over the past 4 years as Assistant Clerk of Superior Court and Probate Judge I have watched families lose real property, homes and land. This is extremely problematic in the African American communities across the state. Land that has been in the family for centuries can be lost when there is no will directing how to transfer property, deeming it “heir” property. I have clerked too many partition hearings and foreclosures where family members do not understand the circumstance and are ultimately forced to sell or give up land, giving up wealth. The NCGA has done a poor job protecting NC families in these situations. I believe we can educate the community on the importance of making a will to designate land transfer and work with our leaders in the NCGA to bring this issue to the floor. This is not always popular with developers who are eager to swoop in and grab land, or with family members that are willing to sell their share to outsiders for a profit, possibly harming other interested heirs.
8) Are there any other issues you would like to address that did not appear on this questionnaire?
Yes. All questionnaires and interviews should end with “What was the last book you read?”. I just finished The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It was a lovely, powerful story of love, strength, and reckoning through the lost art of writing letters. I have the habit of reading a second, non-fiction, book at the same time. Art Above Everything by Stephanie Elizondo Griest is a wonderful compilation of stories from around the world about women determined to create art.