Clerk's office outlines FY26 requests: recorder revenue trends, county assistance cuts and district court staffing for new judge

Kootenai County Clerk Jennifer Lock reviewed the clerk's FY26 budget with the Board of County Commissioners on May 30, describing responsibilities across multiple divisions and laying out modest staffing and budget changes for the clerk's office, recorder, county assistance and district court.

Lock described the clerk's office as a "Swiss army knife" for county functions, listing duties that include payroll and accounts payable, budget preparation, minutes for the board, recording titles and marriage licenses, passport processing and processing district court financial distributions. She said the office now totals roughly 104 employees across auditor, district court and other divisions and that the county has worked to grow operating reserves; "we have moved from ... doing 2 months…