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Todd Marshall has been working for the Hamblen County Property Assessor’s office for 20 years, right across the hall from and in conjunction with the Register of Deeds office across the hallway.

He says that he’s ready to continue working for the people of Hamblen County as the new Register of Deeds in the upcoming election for the office.

“I work hand in hand with (the Register of Deeds office),” he said. “Every deed that comes through the deed office has to come through the assessor’s office to get stamped, make the appropriate changes, and then back to the Register of Deeds office.

The office of Register of Deeds records various types of legal instruments and transactions, including warranty deeds, trust deeds, releases, powers of attorney, charters, plats and military discharges, while also collecting state-required taxes on property transfers and mortgages.

Marshall said the current Register’s office, under the leadership of the retiring Jim Clawson, is well run and he wants to continue a tradition of excellence.

“Jim Clawson has a base set up (that’s ready to go), and I think he’s done a very good job,” Marshall said.

Marshall supports the ongoing digitization of records and said that as technology evolves, he stands ready to adapt and incorporate policies/features that would benefit Hamblen County taxpayers.

Deed fraud has been in the news in recent years and Marshall said that educating deed owners is important due to a new law passed by the state designed to protect homeowners from fraudulent claims.

With new scams and threats facing people with every technological advancement, Marshall said that staying up to date with developments is a priority.

“You’re going to have to stay on top of it,” he said. “You cannot let (new developments) sit around and think it’s a problem that’s going to fix itself.”

As the county grows and more deeds and properties pile up, Marshall said he’s going to work hard to make sure people get taken care of.

“You just have to put your nose to the grindstone, and you just have to get in there because the work has to be done,” he said. “It can’t pile up. That stuff has to be recorded. When those deeds come in, there could be somebody that’s brought it up to the counter, it has to be processed then because the taxpayer is waiting on it.”

Marshall said he’s open to suggestions from the greater community and said he’s flexible to do anything that brings value to taxpayers.

“The Register of Deeds works with title companies,” he said. “So if a title company would come up and say, ‘Hey, listen, let’s think about this…’ (or have other ideas), I am open to suggestions.

“If other companies, or banks, if they have a recommendation for something that would make the office or process more streamlined or more efficient, I’m all for that.”