Rhonda McClelland of Grove City has announced she is seeking re-election as Mercer County recorder of deeds. Mrs. McClelland has held the office since June 2000.

"I enjoy serving the residents of Mercer County as their recorder of deeds," she said. "I thank them for placing their confidence in me in 1999 and ask for their continued support and their vote in May."

The recorder's office provides services to all who need assistance with researching property information. The office is a library for attorneys, bankers, Realtors, surveyors and title companies who rely on the index of records to ensure a clear title for each property they are certifying.

The recorder's office does not use tax dollars for operation or improvement expenses. The office generates its own revenue (about $212,000 a year) and deposits about $173,000 each year into the county's general fund to offset the cost of other county departments, she said. In the last three years, the office has collected more than $9.5 million in realty transfer taxes that were distributed to the commonwealth, local municipalities and school districts.

Mrs. McClelland said that after she took office in 2000, she lowered the office's expenses, streamlined the workflow by upgrading computer systems and replaced outdated, inefficient equipment. "Future improvements will include adding images of newly recorded documents to public computers."