County clerk asks for new counter clerk as retirements and rising transactions strain office

The Blount County Budget Committee approved Resolution 25-02-007 to appropriate $62,001 from fund balance to hire an additional counter clerk for the county clerk's office, following detailed remarks from County Clerk Gaye about retirements, training time and a marked increase in customer transactions.

Gaye told the committee the request is driven by an announced retirement. "I have a retirement that is going to occur in July," she said. She said that Tammy Bryant, the chief deputy clerk, had set a July goal to step away from on-site work to care for family obligations, and that prompted the urgency for additional staff.

Gaye described the work at the front window as "pretty in-depth," saying it requires knowledge of Tennessee law and familiarity with laws in other states, probate procedures, lienholder documentation and leased vehicle transactions. "It takes approximately 4 to 6 months training to get an employee ready to sit at the front window," she said.

Gaye provided figures to illustrate rising demand: she told the committee that, compared with fiscal year 2017, the office's transaction count had increased by 89,000 and revenues had increased by almost $8,500,000. She also summarized recent usage of non-staff tools: "The kiosk are great if you have your postcard and if you're not 90 days past due... The past year, we've had 7,700 people that have used the kiosk. Our online transactions were 36,187 online transactions that we did," Gaye said, adding that even online transactions require a staff member to print and mail decals.

Commissioner Miss Hannam asked detailed questions about urgency and succession planning. Gaye said there are two other employees who could become eligible for retirement in the next one to two years and emphasized ongoing cross-training to maintain continuity: "We're constantly training and keeping people able to fill in wherever needed," she said.

Commissioner Bridal moved the appropriation; Commissioner Anderson seconded. The committee recorded a unanimous roll call: four yes votes.

Why it matters: County clerk front-counter staff handle transactions that affect vehicle registration, decals, probate-related documentation and payments. The committee record shows the request is tied to a specific planned retirement and to a multi-year increase in workload and revenues.

What the record does not show: The transcript contains only the first name "Gaye" for the county clerk and does not provide a surname or an exact effective hire date for a replacement; the appropriation was approved and any hiring or personnel details will be handled by the county clerk's office.