Y2K plus ten

Ten years ago this fall we were in the midst of intense preparations for Y2K and all of the possible communications, computer and technology problems associated with it. In the future, those who didn’t live through it AND understand it will be tempted to belittle all the effort we expended on Y2K preparations, but the reality is that the work was necessary and beneficial. Back in 1999 this office was still using a Wang minicomputer that was running land management software that was not Y2K compatible. Written in the early 1980s when computer memory and storage were still scarce commodities, our LandTrac software only used six digits for dates, not eight. So a date such as October 13, 2009 would be entered in the system as 101209 making it indistinguishable from October 13, 1909 or 1809 or 1709. To fix this problem, we hired a half dozen contractors at great expense, but all was fixed and tested well in advance of New Years Day.

Y2K preparations had many ancillary benefits. In state government, at least, substantial funds were appropriated and spent on technological upgrades of all types. Having limped through the last few years of county government and transitioned to part of state government only in the summer of 1997, we were still using aged and obsolete computers and electronic equipment in 1999. Unlike the Wang software which we judged to be “repairable”, almost all of our other equipment was replaced. This action not only prepared us for the Y2K transition, it also gave us the information technology infrastructure we needed to make the paperless registry we have today a reality.

Busy end of November?

Over this past weekend I received the following email from a local real estate broker:

I'd like to make a suggestion that the last few full working days of November, the Registry of Deeds extend its hours to 8pm. There are going to be SCORES of 1st-time buyers trying to close on homes those last few days. My suggestion is to have the Registry open 'til 8pm on the following days: Monday (23rd), Tuesday (24th), Monday (30th). The 25th is a short day and the 26th and 27th are holidays. Thanks for your consideration.

Unfortunately, because the registry is only a tenant in the courthouse, we cannot control the hours that the building is open. That’s set by the Trial Court which provides access control and overall security. Because this is an active courthouse, the importance of security cannot be minimized.

The good news is that the registry of deeds is only closed on Thanksgiving Day which is November 26. We are opened all day on Wednesday, November 25 and all day on Friday, November 27 (although a significant portion of the staff will be off that day). Still, given the volume of documents we recorded several years ago (700 per day), we should have no trouble keeping up with whatever recordings come in at the end of November. I must mention, however, that there are only a few tables available for public use, so please consider doing closing at someone’s office or some place other than the registry to ensure an appropriate environment for such important transactions.