Flagler County clerk presents needs-based budget, cites Munis rollout, records digitization and investment income

Tom Bexley, Flagler County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, presented a needs-based budget request to the Board of County Commissioners on June 9 that asks for staff additions, technology support for the recently implemented Munis financial system and additional funding for disaster recovery and long-term records management.

Bexley framed the request as "minimum necessary" to run the clerk and comptroller functions: countywide accounting, custody of county funds, records, court clerking functions and the transparency tools used by county staff and the public. He said the office currently employs 62 people countywide, 37 of whom are non'court staff covered by the county budget review.

Why this matters: the clerk and comptroller is the county'wide custodian of funds, the auditor for county financial statements and the manager of official records; changes in the office'level budget affect financial reporting, system support and the county'wide transparency dashboard.

Key points from the presentation - Five FTEs requested: Bexley said the county'wide growth since 2007, the increased volume of Board meetings, value-adjustment board work and the Munis financial system support justify five additional positions to staff IT, finance and records functions. He said the office'wide staffing level has not risen in proportion to population and workload. - Munis and disaster recovery: Bexley told the board that the new Munis financial system requires significant internal support; the clerk'office is the hub for many departments interacting with Munis and Bexley said disaster-recovery planning and routine testing are critical after a recent generator outage at the Justice Center that affected services. - Records digitization and storage: Bexley described a long-term program to image and digitize more than 100 years of records, reducing physical storage needs and increasing the county'held digital footprint; he said that effort shifted physical records space to IT uses and increased the need for ongoing data storage and disaster recovery funding. - Investment returns: Bexley reported that the clerk'managed excess proceeds portfolio exceeds $200 million and that investment income averaged more than $5 million annually over the past three years, noting that investment proceeds could cover the requested budget increases.

Board questions and discussion Commissioners sought detail about the proposed five positions and where they would be placed; Bexley said the roles would be allocated across IT, finance and records operations and that the positions would help manage Munis operations, increased meeting support and digital records workloads.

Bexley noted that some fee revenues have shifted since statute changes and that the county has at times supported the clerk'office in past years during revenue shortfalls. He reiterated that the June 1 budget submission deadline to the Board of County Commissioners and the Department of Revenue had been met by his office.

Next steps The presentation provided context for the clerk'office request within the county'wide budget process. Commissioners and staff said they would continue to review the detailed line items with financial services and follow up as part of the county's multi'week budget workshops.