The president of MERSCORP Holdings Inc. sent an open letter to the Williamson County Commissioners Court on Feb. 5 concerning the property records audit presented to the court during its Jan. 29 meeting.

The letter defended the organization's business structure and said the audit presented a misleading and inaccurate description of the group.

The audit by DK Consultants targeted about 1,500 assignments and documents associated with MERS, a national electronic database for mortgage transfers, over a two-year time period and said that mortgage changes and notices were frequently not reported to the county clerk's office, resulting in filing fees going unpaid.

That audit suggested that the loss of revenue for the county could be in the millions of dollars, while an internal audit by County Clerk Nancy Rister's office estimated a loss of about $1 million over an eight-year time period.

The letter said that when MERS is named the beneficiary, the need to file certain assignments is eliminated.

"It is true that MERS reduces fees paid to county recorders; MERS also reduces the work that county recorders must do after a deed of trust is recorded. This results in fewer errors in the chain of title and lower cost for all," MERSCORP president and CEO Bill Beckmann said in the letter.

Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis said the court will consider the letter in addition to all other information it receives on this issue.

"The county is in communication with attorneys representing urban counties, and the county attorney's office is in contact with Dallas County, as well as other urban counties regarding this issue," Gattis said. "The Commissioners Court will not address this item on the agenda until we have heard back from those groups."

County officials have said they wanted to connect with officials in other counties to determine which direction they should take, in particular if they should seek legal action.