County court consolidation paves way for more staff

Personnel from the offices of the circuit clerk, associate circuit clerk and probate clerk were combined Oct. 1, according to a county news release.

“Consolidation will require some adjustments by staff to new ways of doing business, and several months may pass before these changes become evident to the public,” Greene County Presiding Judge Don Burrell said in the release. “But I believe both the court and its customers will be well-served by this change in clerical operations.”

Burrell now has overall responsibility for clerks who handle the court’s case-processing and record-keeping functions. Greene County Circuit Clerk Mike Carr is responsible for the daily supervision of clerks.

The consolidation entitles the county to apply to the state Circuit Court Budget Committee for additional clerk staff, which officials say is needed because of the county’s case workload, according to the release. The state committee currently has a hiring freeze on new staff for counties that have not consolidated their clerks under a single hiring authority.

Other benefits from the consolidation include a larger pool of staff available for customer service, a single location for attorneys and the public to complete transactions and obtain information for cases, and more time for judges to devote to traditional judicial responsibilities, instead of clerk supervisory duties, according to the release.

The Office of State Courts Administrator will provide up to $40,000 to help the county cover consolidation costs.