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Clerk of the Circuit Court
VOTERS
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Budget Summary
EXPENDITURES BY DEPARTMENT
FY 20 FY 20 FY 21
Revised Actual Approved FY 22 FY 22
Change FY 22 App. 22/ Base + Addenda = Approved App. 21
Clerk of the Circuit Court $743,713 $704,417 $715,542 $777,980
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $743,713 $704,417 $715,542 $777,980
$- $777,980 $62,438
$- $777,980 $62,438
EXPENDITURES BY CLASSIFICATION
Personal Services $678,036 $633,288 $678,612 $741,050
Operations & Maintenance $61,887 $66,539 $36,930 $36,930
Capital Outlay
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
$3,790 $4,590 $- $-
$743,713 $704,417 $715,542 $777,980
$- $741,050 $62,438 $- $36,930 $- $- $- $-
$- $777,980 $62,438
REVENUE BY CLASSIFICATION
Local Fees
Recovered Costs $47,600 $15,643 $47,600 $47,600 $28,747 $12,243 $- $49,361 $- $47,600
$- $- $49,361 $49,361 State Shared Expenses $441,367 $470,365 $441,367 $448,045 $36,377 $484,422 $43,055
TOTAL DESIGNATED REVENUE $517,714 $498,251 $488,967 $545,006 $36,377 $581,383 $92,416
TOTAL UNDESIGNATED REVENUE $225,999 $206,166 $226,575 $232,974 $(36,377) $196,597 $(29,978)
TOTAL REVENUES $743,713 $704,417 $715,542 $777,980 $- $777,980 $62,438
About
The Clerk of the Circuit Court is an elected Constitutional Officer who serves as the record keeper for the County. This division serves as the repository for the Court’s records, a clearinghouse for court information, and is also responsible for maintaining records for all bench and jury trials.
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Clerk of the Circuit Court Division issues concealed handgun permits, subpoenas, processes court orders and collects court fees. Divorces, adoptions, legal name changes, deeds, deeds of trusts, land plats, and assignments are recorded in this office. Other public services include issuing marriage licenses, passports, notary applications; assisting with genealogy research; entering judgments; probating wills and qualifying estate executors; and scanning and imaging of documents.
Highlights
• Continued the scanning and digitization of all marriage licenses. Both the assistance of RSVP volunteers and a grant obtained from the Library of Virginia helped offset the cost of this project. • Continued active internship programs with local high schools, community colleges, and universities. • The Clerk, Erica W. Connor, received certifications through the National Center for State Courts as a
Certified Court Manager, and also through the Virginia Court Clerk’s Association as a Master Circuit Court
Clerk.
• Three employees of the Clerk’s office completed the Deputy Clerk Certification Program, achieving Master
Deputy Clerk status.
Personnel
DEPARTMENT
Clerk of the Circuit Court
TOTAL FY 21 Approved FTE
10
10 FY 22 Approved FTE
11
11 Change
1 1
Base Budget Discussion
The base budget is the estimated minimum cost for providing continued services/operations for each division/ department. It is based on the prior year approved budget with adjustments. This budget shows how much it would cost in the next fiscal year to operate the same programs in the current fiscal year.
• Base Salary and Fringe Benefit Adjustments – The FY 21 approved budget included a 3% compensation increase in Special Contingencies. These funds were distributed to County divisions off cycle during the budget year. In addition to the 3% compensation increase added to the base budget, the budget also includes an increase in the unemployment insurance rate from 0.23% to 0.53%. All other fringe
benefits rates remain unchanged. Funding is also included to cover a 3% compensation increase, effective
July 1, 2021. • Base Compensation Board Revenue Adjustments – A total of $6,678 is added to the base
Compensation Board revenue budget. These funds account for the adjustment of revenues as reported by the State Compensation Board reconciled to the FY 21 County approved budget. Each year, Compensation
Board funding is reconciled to the County approved budget when final numbers are received from the state. The increase in revenue for FY 21 is due to the County meeting the 100,000 population threshold based on population estimates provided by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and then adjusted for staff turnover.
• Deputy Court Clerk (One FTE) Added to the Base Budget – In order to adequately address the large number of jury trials scheduled resulting from court closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, $49,361 and 1 FTE were added offcycle in FY 21. This position has become part of the base budget for FY 22 and adds one additional FTE to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. This position is funded with designated Clerk of the Circuit Court fee revenues. This position is only funded on a temporary basis to address the current workload demands due to the large number of jury trials expected over the next two years and the position will be eliminated after jury trials are back to normal levels or the Clerk’s designated revenue source is exhausted, whichever comes first. This position would also be eliminated if the Compensation Board would fund a new position.
Addenda & Reductions Discussion
Addenda consist of dollars over and above the base budget target for operating and capital outlay expenses. Approved addenda items are often funding provided for new initiatives or expanded services but may also include normal cost increases. Addenda reductions may reflect reduced revenue and/or expense needed to equalize revenue shortfalls.
• $36,377 is Added to the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Compensation Board Revenue – These funds account for a 5% across the board salary increase included in the state’s budget for locally supported positions July 1, 2021. Since the County provided more than a 5% compensation increase to all County funded positions over the biennium, these funds provide additional revenue to the County. Each year,
Compensation Board revenue is reconciled to the County approved budget when final numbers are received from the state.
