- January 19, 2025
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COVID-19's financial impacts have affected many local government bodies that rely money from fees — including the Clerk of Courts office, which has laid off staff members to cope with decreased revenue.
Flagler County commissioners agreed during an Aug. 17 meeting to have the county government provide the Clerk of Courts office with a $250,000 emergency appropriation so that the office does not have to conduct additional layoffs.
"I had to lay off friends, colleagues and neighbors in order to keep this office solvent. Decades of institutional knowledge walked out of this office in a day."
— TOM BEXLEY, clerk of court, on layoffs caused by COVID-19's impact on his office's revenue
The Clerk of Courts budget is divided in two parts — court and non-court, Clerk of Court Tom Bexley told commissioners during the meeting.
The non-court side, which funds duties such as processing county payroll and serving as custodian for county records, is supported by county government allocation and hasn't been much affected by COVID-19. But the court side, which relies on user fees, is taking a hit because so many court proceedings have been suspended or rescheduled.
"We have seen court activity stall since the initial shutdown in March, resulting in our office realizing a 33% reduction in revenue," dropping it from about $1.8 million to about $1.2 million, Bexley said.
By law, the clerk's office can't have a reserve or contingency fund, and 90% of its budget goes to personnel. So when revenue is cut, the only option is laying off staff, Bexley said.
"I had to lay off friends, colleagues and neighbors in order to keep this office solvent," he said. "Decades of institutional knowledge walked out of this office in a day. It was truly one of the most difficult things I've had to do. The bottom line, though, is this can not continue."
So far, he said, the public hasn't been much affected by the impact on the clerk's office.
"Come Oct. 1, I can no longer make that promise," he said.
Without the county's assistance, he said, his office would likely need to consolidate departments, close some sections of the office to the public, or take other such measures.
The $250,000 Bexley was requesting, he told commissioners, wouldn't be used to rehire the people who've lost their jobs, but to help prevent further such losses and disruption.
"I’m coming here hat in hand, asking you to help a neighbor, and that’s exactly what that $250,000 will do," he said. Without assistance, he said, "I don’t see full restoration to make our office whole again for months, maybe longer."
County Administrator Jerry Cameron said that Bexley had been working with the county to minimize the size of the needed appropriation.
County commissioners voted unanimously to approve the $250,000 appropriation, and the county will seek state reimbursement under the CARES Act.
