EDITOR:
In response to last week’s letter to the editor which was clearly a hit piece against me that was obviously not written by a constituent but what I am guessing by someone in this courthouse because I continue to stand against the circus and ineptness of some of my colleagues. So, I wanted to clear the air about some very misleading information from that letter.
I spoke last year at the State Tax Commission hearing and the letter asked what does taxation have to do with my office? Well, everything actually. The recorder’s office is the cornerstone to the entire taxation process. Without a deed that is accurate and correct, the assessor has nothing to assess and the collector has nothing to collect. I spoke because I was asked by the commission to advocate as an elected official for Platte County citizens. I make no apologies for standing up for low-income families, senior citizens on fixed incomes and business owners trying to make a living by fighting for fair and just taxation for everyone.
It was also stated that I “spent county funds to involve his office in anti-human trafficking seminars.” What does that have to do with my office? I issue marriage licenses and having a well-trained staff to understand the signs and symptoms of human trafficking, manipulated marriages entered under duress or marriages entered into as immigration fraud is important. But I spent no county funds to do this.
“He seems to have spent his time and your money on an expensive seal with his name”. RSMo. 59.130 states “Every recorder of deeds shall have a seal of office…”. Also, these seals were not paid for with tax dollars but with the Recorders User Fund.
“He is currently working with the mayor of Platte City to install stationary beacons that would register a lost pet that is “chipped”. The mayor and I both believe that the relationship between city and county government is lacking and could be better. As an elected official, it is important to foster and promote working relationships between taxpayers and political subdivisions. When I was at the Village of Ferrelview, stray pets were a huge concern and it is a passion of mine to do something about it. The funds that were allocated for that project by the way were private donations from Mayor Brune and myself donated out of our own pockets.
“Office employee uniforms embroidered with the custom seal that includes his name, as well as an extensive wardrobe for himself.” The Collector’s Office, the Assessor’s Office, The Public Administrator’s office and several other offices have uniform shirts. I have exactly 5 shirts, a vest and a coat. Professionalism is an expectation when people go to their courthouse to conduct business. Also, these were not paid for with tax dollars but with the Recorders User Fund.
“A vehicle was transferred to the office from the sheriff’s department”. There is a car but it is a pool car that has been used by my office, the County Administrator and maintenance. Also, it is maintained out of Recorder User Funds.
‘His self-touted digitization efforts cost way more than he initially said and the process has not gone as great as he tells everyone”. I actually don’t remember telling anyone it was easy to complete a massive project that is a benefit to the entire county. In fact, it was actually very hard and we had many hurdles along the way. As far as cost, there were unforeseen costs but since they came out of the Recorders User Fund it was no additional cost to the taxpayers out of general revenue funds.
“The fees he references that have paid for this project are taxpayer dollars.” I utilized ARPA funds from the federal government and the Recorders User Funds that are fees that are collected for every recording and ARE NOT TAXES- they are statutory fees imposed by the state legislature for the operations and upkeep of office business.
RSMo 59.319 “Three dollars of such fee shall be retained by the recorder and deposited in a recorder’s fund and not in county general revenue for record storage, microfilming, and preservation, including anything necessarily pertaining thereto. The recorder’s funds shall be kept in a special fund by the treasurer and shall be budgeted and expended at the direction of the recorder and shall not be used to substitute for or subsidize any allocation of general revenue for the operation of the recorder’s office without the express consent of the recorder.” You were not hoodwinked like I was accused of doing.
Again, statutory fees are not taxes- and I have never actually said I didn’t use taxes, as ARPA funds were federal funding collected in the form of taxes- I have always said I have not used general revenue money, i.e., your local tax dollars. Instead, nearly my entire operations budget uses Recorders User Funds, making my office one of the least reliant on general revenue tax money. A track record I am proud of.
For someone who “has not bothered to learn the basic functions of the office” I assure you, I am well versed in the laws pertaining to my office, the functions, and have full ability to continue to keep your deeds safe and pass a budget. Understanding the operations of this office takes more than just 1400 hours of “experience” from a part-time job, 12 years ago.
As for my personal taxes being questionable- that’s ridiculous. I am literally required by law to pay my taxes or I can’t even hold office. If there was a concern and there is not, then why was it addressed 2 weeks before the election? That’s just something someone says when they are grasping at straws.
The letter closed saying “Chris is the scam.” I think the real scam is the establishment being angry because you have an elected official who actually advocates for you, one who is involved in the community, one you see more than just every three and a half years when it’s election time, and one who has done more in his first term of office than most of them have done in the decades they have been in office. The real scam is Sheila Palmer masterminding and motioning for a 30% pay raise, in Nov. of ’25, (a pay raise I am proud to have voted NO for) then in a closed room deal handpicking her own successor and then recruited her son to run for office so he could benefit from that 30% pay raise if he becomes the next recorder of deeds.
I make no apologies advocating for you, calling out the nonsense up here when I see it, protecting vulnerable women while issuing marriage licenses and building relationships with political entities to create a more efficient, effective and transparent government at all levels for the people of Platte County.
–Christopher Wright
Platte County
Recorder of Deeds
