Candidate finds payment flaw in Chester County deeds website

    A Chester County Recorder of Deeds candidate is crying foul over a county website flaw, and commissioners are calling the move a political play.

    Generally, the recorder of deeds site charges lawyers, candidates and others to access the information — a $50 registration fee and a payment of $10 a month for 100 searches, according to the West Chester Daily Local.

    But Democratic candidate Russ Phifer says some pages of the site have been hosting an open username and password, allowing those who should be paying for the information to access it for free. Phifer says 3.5 million searches have been done using the account.

    The announcement at a public works session Wednesday was the first time commissioners became aware of the flaw, they said, and took issue with Phifer using a public forum to address a problem he could have made the county of aware of first.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Commissioners have vowed to get to the bottom of the issue.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal