Fiscal Court approves higher County Clerk salary cap after clerk outlines staffing, election and records needs

Spencer County Fiscal Court voted unanimously Jan. 3 to set the County Clerk’s authorized salary cap for deputies and assistants at $383,000 for calendar year 2022, including benefits. County Clerk Lynn Hesselbrock had urged the court for a larger cap to hire dedicated staff for recording, elections and bookkeeping duties.

Hesselbrock told the court her office needs a full‑time recording deputy to process land records and e‑recording, a full‑time elections/voter‑registration deputy to manage poll staffing and Epollbook readiness, and a full‑time administrative assistant/bookkeeper to separate financial duties and meet state reporting requirements. She said digitizing mortgage books and implementing e‑recording will be required soon to meet demand from bankers and real‑estate professionals.

Magistrates questioned whether her office had historically used the full cap and whether some election‑related hours could be charged to elections budgets instead of the clerk’s cap. The judge noted the clerk had under‑spent prior caps but said the court could consider transfers later in the year if the clerk demonstrated a need.

After multiple motions, amendments and discussion of county budget trade‑offs, the court approved the $383,000 cap with benefits included. The clerk had presented comparative per‑capita figures from peer counties and stressed that a larger cap would permit expanded public hours and better service for a growing community.

What happens next: The clerk will proceed with hiring under the approved cap and implement digitization and e‑recording priorities as staffing and budgets allow; the court retained authority to consider intra‑budget transfers later in the year.