Penny Clarkston, Smith County district clerk, told commissioners the district clerk's office is handling sharply increased caseloads and jury administration demands and asked for one additional full-time deputy to reduce staff burnout and to secure a backup for appeals and writs work.

Clarkston said the district clerk's office is the records hub for felony and other case filings, with records stretching back to the 1800s and heavy exhibit and file-handling demands. She said routine day-to-day work now includes far higher filing volumes: "13,000 filings a month," she said when describing queue sizes and monthly intake during the busiest periods.

Jury workload: Clarkston said jury processing uses 7 to 8 deputies on some mornings and that processing panels requires substantial staffing to check in, seat and pay jurors and to meet court calendar needs. She said the office aims to mail summons six weeks ahead of service, but postal delays and last-minute court calendar changes occasionally leave jurors with short notice. Clarkston said the office has added a new staffer, Mitch Thurman, to improve daily jury communications and that the office now uses text and email reminders for panel cancellations when possible.

Appeals and writs: Clarkston emphasized the appeals and writs workload; appeals records preparation can range from one to 12 hours depending on file size, and she said the office currently has only one appeals clerk with no backup. She asked for another deputy who could be trained as a backup for appeals and writ preparation and to assist jury operations so deputies assigned to jury duties could remain available to serve the courts.

Efficiency proposals: Clarkston proposed process improvements including an electronic queue between the district clerk's office and the sheriff's office for service packs and wider use of the courts' electronic queues to reduce paper handling, scanning and postage costs. Commissioner discussion noted that the district clerk already uses outsourced summons services and text reminders, but Clarkston said postal delays remain a factor.

Budget ask and timing: Clarkston framed the request as a targeted add (one full-time deputy) and said some record-retention and digitization work could be paid from a dedicated district-clerk account. Commissioners asked follow-up questions about summons timing and communications; Clarkston volunteered to supply updated metrics about summons and cancellations.

No formal action was taken; this was a budget presentation and discussion.