Cape Girardeau County commissioners approved Monday a bid of $24.50 per parcel from Ward Title Insurance Agency LLC of Cape Girardeau to perform lien searches on selected parcels with delinquent taxes.

Cape Girardeau County Collector Diane Diebold recommended the agency for the bid and said the job will likely include more than 200 parcels and take about two months to complete. The collector's office will charge around $30 per parcel, and the excess fees will be used to cover postage costs.

Commissioners asked Diebold whether the collector's office could perform the lien searches in-house. She said the office doesn't have enough staff members to complete the work within the appropriate time.

"We tried to do it one year, and with having to complete the amount of work we have to do to just get the sale done, we don't have time," she said.

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Jackson, MO