Clerk of Court George E. Schaefer
Supervising Deputies Criminal Gerald L. Stokes
Chief Deputy Thomas A. Larson
Civil Michele M. Evans
Executive Assistant Cheryl Dougherty
OFFICE OF THE CLERK FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT NORFOLK CIRCUIT COURT 100 Saint Paul’s Boulevard Norfolk, Virginia 23510 (757) 664-4580
Licenses, Permits and Finance DaVida M. Davis Wills, Estates and Deeds Anthony Fuller
To: The Honorable City Council and City Manager From: George Schaefer, Clerk of Circuit Court CC:
Budget Director, Circuit Court Chief Judge
Subj: Annual State of the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office Report Date: January 15, 2006 Ladies and Gentlemen; Another year has passed in my term as Clerk of the Circuit Court. As I begin my third year in office, I would like to start out by thanking each of you for the tremendous support you have given over this past year. Since the Annual Report of 2004, great strides have been taken to meet the goals I have set for this office. As you may recall from last year’s Report, according to the State Compensation Board Staffing Standards our Circuit Court Clerk’s Office has a shortage of 19 full-time employee positions. Realizing 19 new employees were probably not on the horizon; I ordered a comprehensive workstudy to include actual-time measurements for specific job functions, bottom-up review of business processes and implemented technology enhancements to improve the productivity of my office staff. The goal was to find ways to allow the public easier access to services and broader access to public records without compromising statutory requirements. Our findings were reported to the Compensation Board and as a result of our work, the Clerk Staffing Standards, developed in 1975, have been modified and updated across the Commonwealth. The shortage of 19 employees based on our workload in 2004 has now been
Fax: (757) 664-4372 ♦Criminal Division Fax: (757) 441-5295 ♦Wills, Deeds and Estates Division Fax: (757) 664-4112
reduced to nine utilizing the revised staffing standards. While additional staff would be welcome, this office has experienced no reduction in services; instead we have added services such as passports, restitution- tracking, and secure remote access to land records. Along with these efficiencies, I directed my staff to reimburse the equipment rental portion of our budget with the copy account fees that we collect, prior to transmission to the state, resulting in a budget savings of roughly $15,000 per year. Some of the technology enhancements added are: High speed, duplex scanners High speed, expanded network storage for Land Records and Remote Access Indexing and electronic storage capabilities for Civil and Criminal filings Revisable PDF forms for staff and public use Self service copiers with PIN codes for authorized account holders Increased presence on Internet Credit Card processing for court costs and restitution payments In 2005 we began fully tracking victim restitution payments. In the past, crime victims were forced to monitor their own restitution from defendants. Many never received the promised payments. Now all restitution payments are collected and distributed to the appropriate victim by the Clerk’s Office. As a result of this procedural change, we distributed nearly $500,000 in restitution to victims in 2005 and another $40,000 to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. This change allows us to track court-ordered restitution payments and provide timely information to the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the collection of these funds. 2002 - 2005 Restitution to Victims
Restitution Paid to Victims 2005
Restitution Paid to Victims 2004
Restitution Paid to Victims 2003
Restitution Paid to Victims 2002
$ 1 4 8 ,9 7 9 .7 0
$160,000.00
$140,000.00
$120,000.00
$100,000.00
$80,000.00
$60,000.00
March
May
June
July
August
September
$ 1 7 ,4 3 0 .2 8 $ 8 7 7 .4 2
$ 3 ,6 1 8 .0 0
$ 2 2 ,3 9 5 .7 2 $ 0 .0 0
$ 1 5 ,6 1 7 .3 3 $ 0 .0 0
$ 2 7 ,6 5 7 .0 0 $ 0 .0 0
$ 3 1 ,7 7 3 .0 2 $ 0 .0 0
$ 3 8 ,8 9 5 .4 7 $ 0 .0 0 April
O ctober
$ 2 4 ,8 9 5 .8 9 $ 6 ,8 6 2 .3 7
February
$ 3 9 ,6 4 3 .6 9 $ 3 ,8 4 8 .5 5
January
$ 1 8 ,6 3 7 .9 4 $ 0 .0 0
$0.00
$ 3 0 ,8 1 5 .3 3 $ 0 .0 0
$20,000.00
$ 1 7 ,0 1 0 .0 2 $ 0 .0 0
$40,000.00
November
December
Page 2 of 5
We continue to make improvements in our service delivery to our customers. We now provide Secure Remote Access of land records to over 200 authorized non-government users. We also provide remote access at no charge to numerous city, state and federal agencies including: City Attorney, Real Estate Assessor’s Office, Building and Codes Administration, Virginia Attorney General, and the United States Attorney. We are also continuing the process of back-scanning our land records to reduce the need for physical storage space of paper files. We have digitized all land records back to 1987 and expect to have a full 40 years in digital format within the next year. This calendar year we are pushing for the implementation of electronic filing of land records and some criminal and civil filings. This office has been, and continues to be, an integral part of the Electronic Recording Workgroup through the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) as well as the electronic data exchange group established by the United States Office of Justice Programs (USOJP) through the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). Based on the total number of cases filed this past year, both criminal and civil, as well as the ever-increasing number of marriage licenses, concealed weapons permits, judgments, restitution and time-to pay plans processed by this office, participation in these groups is vital. Examples: Criminal Cases concluded in CY05: 10,132 (down 4.6%) Civil Cases opened in CY05: 6,527 (up 12%) Will documents processed in CY05: 3,395 (up 15%) Land Record documents processed in CY05: 52,723 (up 4.6%) Other (marriage license, weapons permits, trade names, etc.): 39,179 (up 22%) While Criminal filings are down slightly from 2004 (under 5%), Civil filings have jumped. We experienced a 12% increase in the number of civil filings from 2004. Technology and process improvement, coupled with the continual monitoring of staff resources has allowed us to absorb this increase with little impact. State Senate Bill 1118, effective January 1, 2006, abolished the Chancery side of Court mandating all Law and Equity cases be filed in a unified “Civil” Division. The last two months of 2005 found us preparing for the merger. While little impact is expected on the public, additional time will be required of staff to review new filings, ensure proper documents are included and correct fees are being charged. The upward trend in home refinances continues, however, we are seeing a slow-down as interest rates continue to rise. We saw a 5% increase in land record transaction over 2004. Of greater concern is the substantial increase (15%) in probate (wills and estates) documents processed over 2004. Working closely with Sheriff’s Office staff, we have been able to “forgive” almost $250,000 in court cost debt in exchange for community service work performed by inmates in the Sheriff’s Office Work Force Program.
Page 3 of 5
We continue to review every area of revenue on both the state and local level to ensure the maximum collection of funds for the city and state treasury. With the increase in recordation tax, we saw a significant rise in city and state revenue. This trend should slow only slightly during CY 2006 if additional housing units come available and interest rates stabilize.
2002
Revenue Comparisons 2002-2005
2003
2004
2005
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0 FINES/FORF
CRT COST S
CRT OFFCR FEES
TRANSFERS
PROBATE FEES
CT COST S
ACADEMY
INT EREST
BLOOD/DNA T ST
NON-CONS JAIL
CONC WPNS PRMT
JAIL ADMISSIONS
DOCUMENT REPRO
COURT HOUSE SEC
SHERIFF FEES
LAW LIBRARY
CRT MAINT
Recordation Fees and Grantors Tax 3,000,000 2,500,000
2002
2,000,000
2003
1,500,000
2004 1,000,000
2005
500,000 0 RECORD FEES
GRANTOR TAX
Passport Services continue to be popular with the public. In 2005 the Clerk’s Office processed 400 passport applications. Working in concert with the State Department, there was no reduction in turn-around time despite the destruction of our assigned passport facility in New Orleans.
Page 4 of 5
2004 - 2005 Passports Comparison
Passports Issued 2005
Passports Issued 2004
50
45
45
28
28
30
27
26
25
30
30
32
32
35
38
38
41
40
17
19
20
13
15
10
10
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
August
September
O ctober
November
December
Cash flow through this office continues to exceed $60 Million. Granting my request for funding a full-time uniformed and armed Deputy Sheriff tightened office security. Although some security issues remain, mostly due to building layout, citizen conduct, as well as the overall feeling of security, has greatly improved because of the presence of that Deputy. The transition to the city pay plan was completed in 2005 and has paid immediate rewards; allowing us to retain and recruit a higher-quality staff. Also, in keeping with my campaign promise to have a diverse office of Norfolk residents, I am proud to report 75% of Clerk’s Office employees reside within the City of Norfolk and 50% are African-American (including 50% of all management positions). This past year we moved from manual processing of the monthly reimbursement from the Compensation Board to electronic processing to include the electronic transfer of the reimbursed funds. Please find attached statistics from 2005. I have included, as a part of this package, graphs that we employ to determine the ebb and flow of the activities at the courthouse. This gives us the ability to manage our staff efficiently and foresee problem areas. Thank you for your time and I look forward to a continued partnership between the Circuit Court and the City we serve. Sincerely,
George E. Schaefer Clerk Norfolk Circuit Court
Page 5 of 5
2005 Receipt Totals
$2,823,730.57 $2,026,435.08
$2,529,996.53
$2,447,826.46
$2,722,171.33
$2,493,944.30
$2,825,330.35 $2,402,393.03
$2,000,000.00
$2,324,347.99
$2,487,810.93
$2,500,000.00
$2,671,848.61
$2,843,118.21
$3,000,000.00
$1,500,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$500,000.00
$0.00 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Clerk's Fees $300,000.00
$245,890.75
$235,726.51 $196,169.35
June
$218,185.04
$213,580.00
May
$225,604.66
$212,028.43
April
$217,272.75
$214,311.33
$198,984.46
$200,000.00
$203,959.51
$238,916.63
$250,000.00
$150,000.00
$100,000.00
$50,000.00
$0.00 January
February
March
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Civil Suits Filed
August
183
190
199 191
195
July
177
158
173
200
201
221
227
250
150
150
100
50
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
September
October
November
December
2005 Total Criminal Cases Commenced/Concluded
1027 959
848
847
831 783
809
821
827
822
634
792
894
897
938 804
891
922 786
805
826
953
1000
800
1037
1128
1200
600
400
200
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 - DD214 & Ordinations
DD214 ORDINATION
16
14
14
12
10
8
8
1
1
1
1
2
2
3
4
5 3
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
6
6
6
6
7
7
8
8
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Divorces Filed
261
282
300
184
183
160
166
170
192
195
200
204
208
249
250
150
100
50
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Judgements
1703
1800
1407
1249
1279
1264
1200
1294
1402
1428
1400
1496
1600
1655
1840
1853
2000
1000
800
600
400
200
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Land Records
4059
3855
4547
4727
4685
4178
February
4061
January
4450
4220
4000
4211
5000
4636
5094
6000
3000
2000
1000
0 March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
304
310
281 268
257
250
262
270
286
300
317
2005 Marriage Licenses
350
179
189
204
200
150
100
50
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Passports 50
41
45
45
38
38
40
October
28
September
28 May
27
26
25
30
32
April
30
30
32
35
November
December
20
15
10
5
0 January
February
March
June
July
August
Trade Names
Trade Names, Notaries, Concealed Weapons Permits, UCC Recordings
Notaries Concealed Weapons Permits UCC Recording
160
160
180
110
110
107
83
75 59
57
53
54
53
42 29
40
39
41
47
48
52
54
56
56
61
65
65
60
40
72
72
72
70
73
76
78
81
80
87
88
92
93
96
102
99
100
102
105
112
120
120
132
132
134
138
140
20
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2005 Will Documents Executed 600
400
403
415
488
480
500
203
208
July
August
136
161
199
200
200
249
253
300
100
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
September
October
November
December
Marriages
2005 Marriage Licenses and Divorces
Divorces Filed
257
261
268
281
286
204 160
166
184
179
183
170
192
195
189
200
204
208
249
250
262
270
282
300
304
310
317
350
150
100
50
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
$1,000,000.00
January February March April May June July August September
$0.00 October
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$2,825,330.35
$2,722,171.33
$2,823,730.57 $2,446,951.08
$2,026,435.08 $1,925,172.24
$2,529,996.53 $2,317,990.02
$2,447,826.46 $1,716,144.12
$1,907,802.71
$2,493,944.30 $2,890,141.88
$1,838,658.48
$2,402,393.03
$5,379,346.32
$6,000,000.00
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$1,648,417.20
$2,324,347.99 $2,085,932.96
$2,671,848.61
$2,843,118.21
$5,000,000.00
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$516,504.60 $576,459.46
$1,372,572.25 $516,504.60 $576,459.46
$2,487,810.93
$2,000,000.00
$1,388,453.95 $516,504.60 $576,459.46
2002 - 2005 Receipt Totals Comparison Receipt Total 2005
Receipt Total 2004
Receipt Total 2003
Receipt Total 2002
$4,000,000.00
$3,000,000.00
November December
$150,000.00
$100,000.00
$50,000.00
$0.00 February May June July August September October
$150,112.20 $135,144.56
$196,169.35
$235,726.51
$247,274.03
$218,185.04 $239,010.55
$225,604.66
$245,890.75
$300,000.00 $324,594.65
$350,000.00
$150,112.20 $135,144.56
$150,112.20 $135,144.56
$160,205.56 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
$183,979.80 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
$217,272.75 $183,426.79 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
$150,112.20 $135,144.56
April
$213,580.00 $193,669.27
$212,028.43 $186,342.04 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
March $214,311.33 $188,304.93 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
$238,916.63
January $175,808.38 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
$198,984.46 $162,409.41 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
$200,000.00
$203,959.51 $167,623.40 $150,112.20 $135,144.56
2002 - 2005 Clerk's Fees Comparison Clerk's Fees 2005
Clerk's Fees 2004
Clerk's Fees 2003
Clerk's Fees 2002
$250,000.00
November December
2002 - 2005 Civil Suits Filed Comparison
Civil Suits Filed 2005
Civil Suits Filed 2004
Civil Suits Filed 2003
Civil Suits Filed 2002
300
216 221 135
150
150
158
168
183
197
216 221
216 221
216 221 174
190
199
216 221
216 221 191 198
180
177
180
195 197
216 221
216 221
227
216 221
216 221
221
220 216 221 173
200
201 197
216 221
234
245
250
100
50
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
ry
ar ch
ay
be r
D ec em
N ov em
be r
be r
ct ob er
O
Se pt em
Au gu st
847 935
831 842
1128
1037 1002
894 971
827 890
959 891
952
1415
1400
Ju ly
600 634
891 888
922 933
1000
Ju ne
M
Ap ril
M
953 870
826 889
800
Fe br ua ry
Ja nu a
Criminal Cases Commenced Total Cases Commenced 2005
Total Cases Commenced 2004
1600
1200
400
200
0
2002 - 2005 Total Criminal Cases Concluded
Total Cases Concluded 2005 Total Cases Concluded 2004
1200
Total Cases Concluded 2003
764
728
783 788
809
821
848
931 960
931 960
931 960
931 960
931 960 859
942 931 960
745
792
822
913 931 960
942 931 960
897
1026 931 960
804
864
938
931 960
931 960 786
805 814
868
931 960
1000
800
1027
Total Cases Concluded 2002
600
400
200
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2004 - 2005 - DD214 & Ordinations Comparison
DD214 2005 DD214 2004 Ordination 2005
25
22
Ordination 2004
16
20
14
15
8
4 4 3
December
3
3 3
4
4 4
5
6 4
4
1
1
1
2 1
1
2
November
2
3
3
4 3
3
3
4 4
5
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
6
7
7 7
8
8
8
9
10
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
2002 - 2005 Concealed Weapons Permit Comparison
Concealed Weapons Permits 2005 Concealed Weapons Permits 2004 Concealed Weapons Permits 2003 Concealed Weapons Permits 2002
94
100
102 105
105
110
120
68 53 52
29
40
40
62
68
53 53
54
62
68 62
60
62
62
65 66 68
70 68
68 62
61 62
68 62
62
68
68 62
62
68 62
56
62
60
68
70 68
72
73
80
81
80
20
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2002 - 2005 Divorces Filed Comparison
Divorces Filed 2005
Divorces Filed 2004
Divorces Filed 2003
Divorces Filed 2002
261
282
300
212 202
212 166 157
184 163
171 160
142
150
202
212 202
212 183 179
170 178
173
202
212
239 192
202
212 202
204 203 202 212
212 191
202
208
212 202
212
219 202
195
202
200
209 202 212
212
249
250
100
50
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Judgments 2005
2002 - 2005 Judgements Comparison
Judgments 2004 Judgments 2003 2000
1840
1853
Judgments 2002
1496
1310 1264 1045
1310 1264
1249
December
1111
1310 1264 1117
1310 1264 1157
1310 1264
1097
1310 1264
1398
1407
1294 1370 1310 1264
November
1009
1000
1310 1264
1402 1151
1279 1279 1310 1264
1310 1264
1310 1264 1121
1200
1264
1400
1428 1343 1310 1264
1600
1655
1703
1800
800
600
400
200
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
Total Land Records 2005
2002 - 2005 Land Records Comparison
Total Land Records 2004
6000
Total Land Records 2003
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
3415
November
December
3150
3000
3175
3684
3855
4059
4314
4323 4314
4636 4142 4314
4547 4408 4314
4255 4314
4314
4178 4403 4314
4727 4568
4842 4314 4061
4314
4685 4818 4314
4450
4314
4220
4211
4000
4314
5000
5094
5138
Total Land Records 2002
2000
1000
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
Marriage Licenses 2005
2002 - 2005 Marriage License Comparison
Marriage Licenses 2004 Marriage Licenses 2003 Marriage Licenses 2002
296
265 244 239
265 239
265
265
265
257 255 239
July
239
June
239
265 239
May
265
281
295 268
239
265
268
265 239
265 239
265
April
179
189 185
202
200
204
227
239
262
265 239 225
239
250
270
265
286 291
298
300
304
310
317
350
150
100
50
0 January
February
March
August
September
October
November
December
Notary Applications 2005
2002 - 2005 Notary Applications Comparison
Notary Applications 2004 Notary Applications 2003
140
Notary Applications 2002
116 110
108 102
86
65
70
75 72
82
82
86
93 82
86
91 86 82
86
84 82 86
June
82
82
86
88
86 May
76
82
86 82
86 82
86
78
82
80
82
86
92 92
96
99
100
104
105
108
110
114
118
120
60
40
20
0 January
February
March
April
July
August
September
October
November
December
2004 - 2005 Passports Comparison
Passports Issued 2005 Passports Issued 2004
50
41
45
45
38
38
40
28
28
27
26
25
30
30
30
32
32
35
17
19
20
13
15
10
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Restitution Paid to Victims 2005
2002 - 2005 Restitution to Victims
Restitution Paid to Victims 2004 Restitution Paid to Victims 2003
$160,000.00
$148,979.70
Restitution Paid to Victims 2002
$140,000.00
$120,000.00
$100,000.00
$80,000.00
$60,000.00
$30,684.17 $6,862.37
$39,643.69 $3,848.55
$17,430.28 $877.42
June
$3,618.00
May
$22,395.72 $0.00
$0.00
April
$15,617.33 $0.00
$0.00
$27,657.00
$31,773.02 $0.00
$18,637.94 $0.00
$30,815.33 $0.00
$17,010.02 $0.00
$20,000.00
$38,895.47
$40,000.00
$0.00 January
February
March
July
August
September
October
November
December
Trade Names/Misc 2005
2002 - 2005 Trade Names Comparison
Trade Names/Misc 2004 Trade Names/Misc 2003
200
186
Trade Names/Misc 2002
138
132 122
73
72
71
102 96 69
87
102 96
102 96
102 96
110
113 102 96
102 96
107
102 96
83
80
102 96
112 109
119
120 121 102 96
102 96
105
102 96
100
132
128
120
134
143
140
102 96
160
160
180
60
40
20
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
UCC Recording 2005
2002 - 2005 UCC Recordings Comparison
UCC Recording 2004 UCC Recording 2003
180
165
UCC Recording 2002
160
128
133
134
140
110
120
87
90
100
71
71
71
71
71
72
71
71
71
71
74
71
71
71
80
56
59
56 42
39
45
49
56
57
56
54
56
56
47
41 34
40
56
56 48
56
54
56
56
52
56
59 56
60
20
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Will Documents Executed 2005
2002 - 2005 Will Documents Executed Comparison
Will Documents Executed 2004 Will Documents Executed 2003
600
Will Documents Executed 2002
277
286
216
216 115
115
115
115
115
115
115
115
115
115
115
100
115
136
160
182
193
216
216
216
208
203
216
253 199 216
216
200
216
216 161
199 207 216
216
200
266
249 268
292
300
282
327
400
403
415
480
488
500
November
December
0 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October