Justin Powell, Dawson County clerk of court, asked the Board of Commissioners to convert a current part-time deputy clerk position into a full-time role to address growing workload.

Powell told the board he has handled additional duties over his 15 years as clerk and that the office has absorbed new responsibilities without asking for extra resources until now. “I've never had a request of the commissioners outside of budget... I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to,” Powell said. He said the requested conversion is to support work such as calendars, sentencing processing and other court-office duties that have increased with county growth.

Powell provided staffing cost estimates in his packet and to the board. In the meeting he said the annual figures would amount to roughly a $54,000 increase in future years at maximum benefits; for the remainder of the current fiscal year staff materials show an estimated additional cost in the range of about $4,000 to $14,000 (presented as a little under $15,000) depending on benefits choices. Powell told commissioners that savings in this year’s budget—primarily from insurance savings—would cover the remainder of this fiscal year but that next year’s budget will need to include the ongoing cost.

Commissioners asked whether the current part-time employee could convert to full time; Powell said he hoped the current employee “will” be converted to full time but did not confirm a hire. The request was informational at the work session; no formal board action or vote occurred during the meeting, and Powell said the position vacancy from a prior administration remains frozen.

Powell thanked county staff who prepared the cost materials and indicated he would follow up with the commissioners as the budget process proceeds.