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Board approves temporary clerk position to help scan criminal files ahead of expungement deadline
Summary
The clerk of court told supervisors that state guidance requires criminal records from 1986 onward be scanned and available by July 1, 2026; the board approved a county budget adjustment to cover the county's portion of an additional staff position to begin in September.
Rachel Hardenback, clerk of court, asked the board for a budget line adjustment to accept an additional clerk position the state authorized for all clerks' offices to handle the impending wave of sealing and expungement petitions triggered by changes to Virginia law. Hardenback told the board the state guidance requires scanning criminal files dating from Jan. 1, 1986 to the present and entering data into a criminal system by July 1, 2026; for Middlesex that means scanning roughly 8,000 to 12,000 cases and hundreds of thousands of pages.
Hardenback said the state will cover the employee's compensation for the fiscal year but the county must fund benefits and payroll taxes; she estimated the county portion at about $16,500 for the initial period and asked for authority to post and hire an entry-level clerk to start Sept. 1. Board members asked about term limits and whether the position would be converted after the state's biennium funding; Hardenback said the state-funded slot is for the current two-year cycle and she will evaluate need for future years during next year's county budget process.
Supervisors approved the FY2026-002 budget supplement and associated position by roll-call vote; the clerk will proceed with recruitment and staff will monitor workload and long-term funding needs.
