Missing seals halt business at county ROD office

Wayne County residents will not be able to do official business at the county Register of Deeds office until Wednesday or Thursday at the earliest, officials said, because seals necessary to certify everything from real estate documents to birth and death certificates are not available.

Registrar Constance Coram, who was elected in November in a contentious race for the office, was sworn in Monday morning — the same day the Wayne County Board of Elections certified her election.

The delay in the certification was a result of an unsuccessful challenge to the vote by write-in challenger Tina Arnder.

County Manager Craig Honeycutt and County Commissioner Joe Daugherty said Monday afternoon that the county was required to wait for a 10-day period after the state Board of Elections denied Arnder’s petition — even though it became apparent there would be no further challenges.

“With the challenges to the election, Ms. Coram could not be sworn in until this morning,” Honeycutt said.

And that, along with the election certification, are why the proper seals are not in place, he added.

“My understanding is that without the certification and being sworn in, she could not order the seals necessary to do her job,” Honeycutt said.

When contacted this afternoon, Coram implied that the fault for the seals not being ordered lay with the former registrar, Judy Harrison.

“No one took the time to order the seals,” she said. “The former registrar did not place the order for the proper seals.”

But Honeycutt said Harrison was not responsible for the seals, which could not be ordered because of the certification issues.

Daugherty said transition between the two departments was problematic because of the contentious election and the challenges to the vote, making an orderly transfer of power difficult.

Coram did not directly acknowledge that there was a problem in the office, or that certifications and other business have been delayed, but said, “things aren’t going as needed.”

Coram said she ordered the proper seals Monday but did not commit to when they would arrive.

“I just placed the order,” she said.

Honeycutt said the county is expediting the arrival of the seals, but added that he could not guarantee when the office would be back up and running.

“We are working as diligently as we can to get the seals ordered,” he said.

The New Old North received multiple calls Monday morning from local real estate and other county professionals concerned about the fact that their closings and other legal work could not be accomplished because of trouble at the registrar’s office. Others were unable to obtain copies of birth and death certificates and were told it was unclear when those services would be available.

Honeycutt said residents can still come in and request documents, but acknowledged that real estate transactions would be delayed until the proper seals are in place.

“We are open,” Honeycutt said. “We just can’t certify anything until those seals come.”