Ex-officio Clerk to the Board

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Lee County Clerk of Court

Our Mission and VisionOur Mission and Vision

It is the mission of the Clerk's Office to provide to the citizens of Lee County the functions of court clerk, county auditor, county finance officer, county public/official records keeper and Clerk to Board of County Commissioners as mandated by the federal, state, and local government statutes and laws. 

It is the vision of the Clerk to work smarter with fewer people and be more efficient and effective; to use automation to achieve real and long term savings for the tax payers.

We believe that this mission can be achieved through teamwork, initiative, and open and honest communication and that the people of the Clerk's Office are the organization's most valuable resource.

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Responsibilities… Everything we do is dictated by lawResponsibilities… Everything we do is dictated by law

It is our responsibility to provide Circuit and County Court case maintenance, which includes court case processing, financial processing, jury management information and reporting.

We are clerk, auditor, recorder and custodian of all county funds for the Board of County Commissioners of Lee County.

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Our StructureOur Structure

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FundingFunding

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Revenue SourcesRevenue Sources

Recording Fees

•State appropriations for the Court Department are based on the State’s fiscal year

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Expenditures by Funding SourceExpenditures by Funding Source

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Surplus FeesSurplus Fees

Fiscal Year

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2005 – 2009 %

Board Funding

$5,569,268

$7,293,086

$7,297,190

$7,510,157

$7,759,997

39%

Recording Fees *

$12,648,474

$12,980,870

$ 8,751,204

$ 4,709,257

$ 3,562,218

(72)%

Surplus returned to the Board

$ 8,860,885

$10,756,021

$ 3,011,756

$ 55,987

$ 44,715

(99)%

*Recording fees are all fees and revenues collected by the Recording Office

At the end of each fiscal year, the Clerk is required to return to the Board’s General Fund any surplus fees that were not used in the operations of the office during that year.

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History of Full Time PositionsHistory of Full Time Positions

Departments 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Administration 5 5 6 5 5

Internal Audit 8 9 9 9 9

Human Resources 5 5 5 5 5

Finance & Records 100 108 111 105 99

Courts 158 182 205 220 207

Technology Services 48 53 55 56 49

Total 324 362 391 400 374

Funded by the Board 102 110 116 93 88

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Funded by State AppropriationsFunded by State Appropriations

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Courts Department … What we doCourts Department … What we do

Case maintenance, case processing, financial processing, jury management, and information & reporting for: Circuit Civil, County Civil, & Small Claims cases Probate & Guardianship cases Domestic Relations & Support cases Felony, Misdemeanor, & Criminal Traffic cases Civil Traffic, Ordinance, & Parking Violation cases Juvenile Dependency & Delinquency cases Appeals cases Locally funded programs: Family Support Pay or Appear, Probation

Payments, eFirst Weekends, Drug & Mental Health Court.

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Courts Department … Where we have beenCourts Department … Where we have been

Prior to July 2009, the Clerk’s court-related functions were funded by revenues from court fees, fines, service charges, and court costs. Surplus revenues were sent to the State.

After July 1, 2009, senate bill 2108 put the Clerk’s court-related functions in the State’s General Appropriations Act and cut the budget by 2.5 million. All revenues are now sent directly to the State.

We absorbed the budget reduction by cutting back and maximizing the efficiencies we have been implementing since 2002.

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Courts Department … Where we are todayCourts Department … Where we are today

We are running a bare-bones operation with the following efficiencies and resulting savings: Electronic case files are created for all cases – resulting in significant savings in time

and labor for the entire court system. A Business Intelligence system is used for quality control and to make & monitor

changes to processes quickly and easily – resulting in significant efficiencies for the court system.

Electronic files are used in the courtroom for County Court Criminal and Foreclosure cases which facilitated the elimination of paper files for those courts – resulting in significant savings in labor costs and office space & storage of the paper files for the County.

About 24 employees work-from-home which lessens the demand for office space, parking, and desks.

Electronic distribution of documents to other agencies is utilized extensively– resulting in significant savings in labor, copiers and paper.

The Internet, phone & check cashing stores are used to provide customer convenience for paying fines.

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Courts Department … Where we are goingCourts Department … Where we are going

As we respond to the demands of our customers – the courts, the legislature, state and local agencies, and the public - we will continue to set goals for more automation, more efficiencies and more savings…

Electronic filing - to eliminate remaining paper files

Estimated savings of $1.2 million annually some of which is a savings for the County.

Automated interfaces with the Jail, State Attorney, and Court Administration – hopefully with a new integrated CJIS system.

Significant annual savings for each agency. The return on investment for an integrated CJIS system could be met in one year.

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Courts Department StatisticsCourts Department Statistics

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County CourtFY07 FY08 FY09

FY09 Compared to

FY08 FY07

County Civil Cases 7,986 8,713 8,944 3% 12%

Small Claims Cases 7,486 8,150 6,796 -17% -9%

Mortgage Foreclosures 9,145 26,848 23,207 -14% 154%

Civil Traffic Tickets 112,821 116,843 98,353 -16% -13%

Criminal Traffic Cases 23,891 22,114 16,877 -24% -29%

Misdemeanors 20,341 19,769 16,418 -17% -19%

Parking Tickets 3,856 2,378 961 -60% -75%

Fines Collected – Felony, Misd., Traffic & Criminal Trf. $22,705,984 $23,405,405 $21,127,134 -10% -7%

Fees Collected – Civil and Family Court $8,127,309 $16,220,872 $28,460,217 75% 250%

Circuit CourtFY07 FY08 FY09

FY09 Compared to

FY08 FY07

Circuit Civil Cases 13,808 32,903 28,984 -12% 110%

Domestic Relations 9,328 9,582 9,236 -4% -1%

Probate Cases 4,521 3,573 4,311 21% -5%

Juvenile Cases 4,292 4,301 3,740 -13% -13%

Felony Cases 8,058 8,411 6,862 -18% -15%

Civil Appeals 126 125 165 322% 31%

Criminal Appeals 220 316 278 -12% 26%

JuryFY07 FY08 FY09

FY09 Compared to

FY08 FY07

Cost of Jurors $148,575 $178,095 $180,840 2% 22%

Jurors Summoned 95,413 107,208 118,515 11% 24%

Jurors Available 47,796 52,035 60,155 16% 26%

Jurors Reported 13,939 16,055 18,339 14% 32%

Trials 229 297 329 11% 44%

SupportFY07 FY08 FY09

FY09 Compared to

FY08 FY07

Contempt Orders 13,158 14,601 14,919 2% 13%

New Cases Opened 2,390 2,800 2,485 -11% 4%

Cases Balances for Hearings 3,550 2,912 1,821 -37% -49%

Reimbursement $512,254 $439,110 $683,021 56% 33%

Services funded from fees Services funded from fees

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Human Resources DepartmentHuman Resources Department

Our Mission: Guiding the Clerk’s Office to attract, retain, and motivate high quality employees who will

contribute to achieving organizational goals and objectives.

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STRATEGIC

Ensure adequate human resources to meet the strategic goals and operational plans of the Clerk’s Office,The right people with the right skills at the right time.

Keep up with social, economic, legislative, and technological trends that impact HR.

Manage change when the future is different than anticipated.

Human Resources…What we doHuman Resources…What we do

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Human Resources … What we doHuman Resources … What we do

Recruitment Eligibility Verification,

Applicant Tracking, Hiring, Employee Orientation

Compensation Review for fairness

Employee Relations Partners with management to

communicate policies, programs and regulations

Records and Information Maintain personnel,

insurance, and medical employee files

Employee Safety, Health and Wellness Benefit administration,

maintenance

Organizational Development Training, Cross-training

Compliance Manage HR compliance issues

HRIS Utilization and maintenance of HR

and recruiting software Utilization and maintenance of

Clerk’s intranet

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Human Resources … How we do itHuman Resources … How we do it

Kronos timekeeping software

PDS HRIS software

NeoGov applicant tracking software

Sharepoint software for Clerk’s intranet management

OnBase software for electronic recordkeeping including e-RPA’s with workflow

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Recording Office … What we doRecording Office … What we do

Record all instruments that are required or authorized by law in the County’s Official Records

Deeds, leases, bills of sale, agreements, mortgages, notices or claims of lien, notices of levy, tax warrants, tax executions and other instruments relating to the ownership, transfer or encumbrance of or claims against real or personal property.

Notices of lis pendens, judgments entered by any court of this state or United States, certified copies of death certificates, etc.

Issue marriage license applications and record marriage licenses Accept passport applications and forward to US Department of State Collect document stamps and intangible taxes for the State Maintain record of recorded plats

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Recording Office … How we do itRecording Office … How we do it

Image documents upon receipt AI Index and AI Redact software Indexing and verifying documents handled by Work From

Home and in-office personnel from imaged documents. Full service clerks for walk-in customers E-recording for customers Documents can be searched and printed from the Clerk’s

website going back to the 1800’s

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Recording StatisticsRecording Statistics

FYE2005 FYE2006 FYE2007 FYE2008 FYE2009 2005-2009 %

Fees Collected $8,990,067 $8,890,553 $6,216,882 $3,221,496 $2,661,916 (70)%

Marriage License Applications

4,577 3,496 3,600 3,435 3,396 (26)%

Passport Applications

11,274 7,999 10,711 7,557 5,304 (53)%

Instruments Recorded

538,361 520,002 402,508 339,667 299,460 (44)%

Pages Scanned 1,452,819 2,378,897 1,616,995 974,852 686,826 (53)%

Number of Employees

47 60 60 48 40 (15)%

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Delinquent Tax Office … What we doDelinquent Tax Office … What we do

Sell properties for delinquent taxes

Notify owners and interested parties of pending sale

Hold auction of properties not redeemed by time of sale

Notify previous owners and interested parties of any proceeds exceeding taxes, costs and fees owed

Review and pay claims for surplus proceeds

Transfer unclaimed proceeds to the Board

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Delinquent Tax … How we do itDelinquent Tax … How we do it

Automating the certified notice mailings with a download of the interested party information from our software directly to a vendor who processes the notices

Using an on-line auction vendor we broadened our bidder base and eliminated the need for a physical site for the auction

Web access to documents permits investigators and bidders to research our records from their office or home

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Delinquent Tax StatisticsDelinquent Tax Statistics

FYE2005 FYE2006 FYE2007 FYE2008 FYE2009 2005-2009 %

Tax Deeds Sold 1,122 191 1,080 452 1,867 66%

Tax Deeds Redeemed

2,478 640 507 837 1,041 (58)%

Dollars transferred to Board

$557,401 $1,013,945 $419,681 $232,695 $276,921 (50)%

# of Employees 7 7 7 7 8 14%

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Board Funded ServicesBoard Funded Services

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Clerk to the Board … What we doClerk to the Board … What we do

We keep the minutes and original documents for Board of County Commissioners Port Authority Board Lee County Governmental Leasing Corporation Value Adjustment Board(VAB)

We administer the petition process for VAB accept petitions, schedule hearings and record the hearings and

minutes of the Board Propose VAB annual budget, track costs and report same for the

Board’s approval

We maintain the lobbyist records and special district financial statements that are filed with the Minutes Office

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Clerk to the Board … How we do itClerk to the Board … How we do it

Imaged database of documents and petitions Public access is provided via the Clerk’s website and in

our office (from 1990 to current)

Recorded meetings and hearings transcribed within 2 days

VAB petitions can be filed online via the Clerk’s website. Off-site meetings handled via laptop recording

equipment. Use Recording Office personnel

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Minutes StatisticsMinutes Statistics

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For the last two years the Minutes Office has utilized cross trained personnel from other offices to handle the large influx of VAB petitions

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FinanceFinance

Accounting (collectively referred to as Finance) Accounts Payable Revenue and Investments Payroll General Accounting Finance Operations

We handle associated accounting responsibilities for Lee County Board of County Commissioners Lee County Port Authority County Funded Court Administration Lee County Government Leasing Corporation Lee County Clerk

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Finance … What we doFinance … What we do

Pre auditing all payment requests made by vendors All vendor and contract payments are monitored for compliance with federal, state and county

laws and policies Since 2005 our clerks have located over $2 million in errors that would have resulted in

overpayments

Pay all Board, county-funded Court Administration, Port Authority, and Clerk employees bi-weekly Monitor the numerous employee pay types in accordance with the adopted pay plans, union

contracts, administrative code, ordinances, federal and state regulations Administer the various pay deductions and benefits and ensure that they are paid timely

Manage banking and broker arrangements Invest surplus monies Record all bank deposits Monitor the investment market and confirm that adequate collateral is maintained Negotiate banking, armored car contracts

Prepare bank bid, negotiate additional banking services This year’s bid will be a combined bank bid that will include all Constitutional Officers

International wire payments Monitor budget and cash balances

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Finance … What we doFinance … What we do

Record and track tourist tax payments

Monitor bonded debt covenants to insure compliance Authorize debt service payments

Monitor grant funds for proper tracking Maintain Master grant inventory list Prepare the Single Audit Report Complete the Data Collection Report to the State

Maintain and reconcile the county’s fixed assets and construction in progress

Reconcile the Board, Port and Clerk’s bank accounts

Monitor and ensure accuracy of financial reporting Lee County’s Annual Financial Report (CAFR) State’s annual financial report (AFR) Monthly Financial Report to the Board of County Commissioners Single Audit Report Federal and State tax returns for Lee County Governmental Leasing Corporation Track arbitrage and reporting to IRS Prepare various other financial and tax reporting as required by law

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Finance … How we do itFinance … How we do it

Invoice images are passed between various Board, Port and Clerk departments and Finance electronically

Imaged invoices, contracts, deposits, journals available online for all Board and Port departments to view

Electronic Request for Personnel Action for Board and Clerk

Use remote deposit (images sent to bank instead of physical check) to limit loss of checks

Online access to bank accounts

Pay Cards and ACH Enables employees to be paid while out of the local area Eliminated hand delivering and lost checks

Kronos timekeeping software eliminated manual keypunching of employees time

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Finance …How we do itFinance …How we do it

We use Bloomberg to confirm adequacy of collateral

There is constant communication with brokers, bank and various merchant services

The check form is printed when issuing checks, which lessens printing costs and potential forgery

We use positive pay with vendor name, check number and amount verified by the bank prior to releasing the funds

Crystal report writer allows us to create reports on request

We emphasize technical knowledge and training

Employees work from home, where possible, which lessens the demand for office space, parking and desks

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Finance … What our technology means to YOUFinance … What our technology means to YOU

Invoice processing time was cut in half with the implementation of OnBase workflow software

Board and Port personnel no longer need come to our office to look at the original invoices, journals or deposit information – They can now be viewed from the comfort of their office

Documents are imaged as they come into the office and are not misplaced or lost

By implementing Kronos timekeeping we are able to wait until the end of the pay period to begin the payroll process

Remote deposits guarantee credit for the deposit a day earlier than armor car delivery

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Finance … What our technology means to YOUFinance … What our technology means to YOU

Crystal report writer provides flexibility for the accountants to design the reports they need and to provide information to Board, Clerk and Port personnel and the public

Use of the Clerk’s website to provide public access to The County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report The County’s Single Audit Report The Port Authority’s financial statements The Clerk’s audited financial reports The Monthly Report to the Board The Clerk’s Budget report The Annual Report to the State The latest transcribed Minutes

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Actions that Impacted our WorkloadActions that Impacted our Workload Board Action

Local Tourist Tax Collection and Enforcement

Externally held Board meetings 51 different pay types County Probation Payment Collections Pay or Appear Program Port Authority Special Dependent District County-funded Court Administration Lee County Governmental Leasing

Corporation Sick Pay Buy Back program, Paid Time Off Long term inter-fund loans

Federal Regulation Taxable fringe benefits (car, life insurance) Arbitrage Reporting on Debt Vendor Withholding W9 Reporting Stimulus Package’s COBRA subsidy Stimulus Package’s new withholding tax

tables

Accounting Standards 56 governmental accounting standards 5 concepts statements 6 standard interpretations OPEB accrual FMV accounting for investments Full accrual accounting for governmental

funds

Infrastructure Accounting Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental

Fund Type definitions Pension disclosures Pollution remediation obligations Accounting for termination benefits Deposit and investment risk disclosures

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Accounts Payable StatisticsAccounts Payable Statistics

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2005 to 2009

Active Contracts 1,054 1,358 1,281 1,387 1,502 42.5%

Number of Invoices 198,566 196,991 195,284 185,073 183,388 (7.6)%

Credit Card Users 2,652 2,638 2,885 2,479 2,094 (20.8)%

$ of invoices paid $871,944,297 $953,210,676 $1,079,341,069 $902,319,614 $885,376,419 1.5%

$ of credit card transactions $1,735,461 $2,077,765 $2,435,025 $1,971,669 $1,395,168 (19.6)%

# of employees 14 15 15 14 14 0%

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Payroll StatisticsPayroll Statistics

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2005 to 2009 %

Board of County Commissioners 3,090 3,248 3,330 3,126 2,958 (4)%

Port Authority 359 410 395 382 365 1.7%

Clerk 453 492 489 492 450 (.1%)

County –funded Court Administration 143 156 168 167 171 19%

Total 4,045 4,306 4,382 4,167 3,944 (2.5)%

# of employees 6 7 7 7 7 17%

Number of Employees paid throughout the Calendar Year

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Revenue and Investment StatisticsRevenue and Investment Statistics

FYE2005 FYE2006 FYE2007 FYE2008 FYE2009

Ave Investment Portfolio $1,221,003,994 $1,363,145,120 $1,415,581,655 $1,385,567,967 $1,185,962,388

Deposits $1,063,007,883 $2,481,711,261 $2,219,849,056 $1,794,806,420 $1,192,586,635

Tourist Tax Collected $11,612,081 $18,744,219 $22,986,496 $23,736,689 $21,942,449

Wire/ACH Transactions 9,538 10,640 10,471 11,330 11,762

Bank Accounts 35 33 34 37 43

Tourist Tax Returns Processed

13,410 14,592 15,428 18,821 21,545

# of Deposits Recorded 19,551 20,578 21,039 21,334 22,202

# of Employees 7 7 7 6 6

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General Accounting StatisticsGeneral Accounting Statistics

FYE2005 FYE2006 FYE2007 FYE2008 FYE2009

FundsSub funds

94363

96360

95391

71361

79342

Journal Batches 6,687 5,541 5,360 6,230 5,740

Active Fixed Assets 32,154 34,518 38,282 39,600 40,720

Outstanding Debt $1,217,516,817 $1,260,909,138 $1,282,409,538 $1,228,008,267 $1,162,545,616

Number of Debt Issues 43 45 48 47 44

Number of Employees 9 9 10 9 9

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Fee and County FundedFee and County Funded

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Internal AuditInternal Audit

Auditor

Provides audit services to assist departments under the Board of County Commissioners, Port Authority and Clerk to meet their objectives

Internal Audit is funded by Tourist Tax Commission, recording fees and county funding

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Internal AuditInternal Audit

Audit programs are designed to : Insure accuracy of financial records Evaluate internal controls for protection against fraud, waste and abuse Analyze task performance for efficiency and effectiveness Survey customers to determine satisfaction Benchmark performance and best practices Confirm compliance with laws, regulations, policies and procedures Insure compliance with contract terms and conditions Compare records with physical assets Evaluate computer and software application controls

Audit reports are published as public record on the Clerk of Courts website An average of 26 reports are published annually

Conducts enforcement audits for Tourist Taxes Generated approximately 6,000 accounts Tax collected has dropped less than 1% from 2006

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Technology ServicesTechnology Services

Business Performance

Business Value

Technology

Technology Services … What we doTechnology Services … What we do

We provide: All technology services to the Clerk’s office Application hosting and other services to:

BoCC Port Authority Twentieth Judicial Circuit

Access to County and Court information for: Public and Paid-subscribers Government agencies

Mailroom services to: Clerk Court Administration State Attorney

Technology Services … Where We Have BeenTechnology Services … Where We Have Been

Technology Services … Where we areTechnology Services … Where we are

Technology Services … Where we areTechnology Services … Where we are

Administration Building

Datacenter

JusticeCenter

Datacenter

Business ContinuitySarasota

DRDatacenter

Disaster Recovery

Reliability of ServiceReliability of Service

EfficiencyEfficiency• Standardize ArchitectureStandardize Architecture• Improve Processes and ServicesImprove Processes and Services

Vision:Vision:Enable Business Enable Business TransformationTransformation

EffectivenessEffectiveness• Focus on agency strategic initiativesFocus on agency strategic initiatives• Align with Business NeedsAlign with Business Needs

TransformTransform• Business Process ImprovementBusiness Process Improvement• Business AnalyticsBusiness Analytics2005-2009

Technology Services StrategyTechnology Services Strategy

2003-2007

2007-2011

Technology Services … Where we are goingTechnology Services … Where we are going

Focus on:

Business transformation

Continued process improvements

Opportunities for Collaboration Communication lines (Internet, FL LambdaRail) Disaster Recovery sites Application hosting Data Center Consolidation

In ConclusionIn Conclusion

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•What we need from the BoardThe Clerk’s Office is the hub and the agencies and constituents of Lee County are the spokes of the wheel – and they are all our customers.

The demands of our customers are like the ripple effects in a pond after a pebble has been dropped. Our job is to respond and minimize the associated costs – with process changes and automation.

Automation will continue to create new savings and efficiencies for our customers. Examples: eFiling, online foreclosure sales.

We will continue to invest in technology as necessary to meet the demands. Unless Recording fees recover, we may ask for help with funding, but only if the return-on-investment is strong and timely.