Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Court Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clerk of Court cites slowed recording revenues, pushes court‑records cloud migration
Summary
Brad Embree, Okaloosa County Clerk of Court, told commissioners July 22 that recording fee revenues have fallen and the office is piloting a secure government cloud for court records while working through software rollout issues affecting filings and the judiciary interface.
Brad Embree, Okaloosa County Clerk of Court, told the Board of County Commissioners on July 22 that his office’s operational budget is $13.02 million and that the office’s requested county support—including an enterprise resource project (ERP) ask—totals about $5.025 million.
Embree said the clerk’s office is facing a revenue shortfall on recording fees because of a slowdown in real‑estate activity: ‘‘When I looked at recording, we’re…about 63% of what we anticipated on revenue,’’ he said, noting the fourth quarter is typically higher because of military relocations.
Embree said the office’s operational request represents a 4.2% increase (roughly $138,000) over the prior year and that much of the county ask relates to the ERP. He also briefed commissioners on an ongoing case‑management system rollout, saying a configuration issue with the e‑portal and judiciary connection produced a backlog that is now largely resolved.
Embree said Okaloosa County is the state pilot to move court records into a secure government cloud, a multi‑year effort his office has pursued: “Okaloosa County is the pilot for taking court records to a secure government cloud environment. We're gonna be the first ones in the state to do it,” he said.
Commissioners asked about the software updates and Embree praised his staff for managing the multi‑year transition while resolving configuration and judiciary‑interface issues. He said some difficulties were expected during the multi‑year project and that the office is working with the judiciary and vendors to complete integration.
No formal vote was taken on the clerk’s budget during the July 22 workshop; the presentation was part of the county’s department budget review process.
