Clerk of the Circuit Court

Our trip to the clerk of the circuit court provided a lot of insight into the workings of our county's office. It was described as the office with the lowest visibility and the highest responsibility, because people know the least about it.

The clerk's office handles millions of dollars, they are responsible for paying all the employees which add up to around 6,500 people. The office also invests the county's money, and does so following different criteria. In order to invest the county’s money they judge the liquidity of the investment, the return of principle, and the rate of return.

Something they spoke about that was very interesting was the loss of revenue that is going hand in hand with our nation’s economic standing right now. We learned about the county’s revenue drying up as a result of the higher amounts of foreclosures, and less people buying or selling homes, this means the taxes off deeds aren’t coming in anymore and the county’s budget is a mirror of what’s happening in the economy.

Another aspect that is a result of the economic crisis right now is crime, people are undergoing higher amounts of stress and therefore domestic violence can rise and theft can go up as well as people result to stealing to get what they need.

The clerk of the circuit court’s office has recently opened up services to issue passports as well as helping people not have to hire attorney’s. The people helped by this attorney services generally have a relatively small charge against them, and now they can file a case through the self-help office. The legal aids in this office provide services for a small fee, this helps to expedite the process as well as avoid a loss of time and money.

The wide array of tasks handled by the clerk of the circuit court range from handling traffic citations, keeping county records and handling jury summons. This office truly does handle a great amount of responsibility and isn’t really recognized for it.