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Spencer County clerk reports $69,806 HB 537 deposit, urges records storage and flags election expense risks
Summary
County Clerk Lynn Hesselbrock reported receipt of a $69,806.41 HB 537 supplement, proposed digitization and climate‑controlled storage for county records, and warned of potential additional election costs including postage and camera needs for absentee ballot processing.
Spencer County Clerk Lynn Hesselbrock told the Fiscal Court on March 21 that her office had received and deposited a $69,806.41 supplemental payment connected to HB 537 into the clerk fees account. She presented several proposed uses for the funds, including restoration and digitization of old deed and mortgage books, online access to plats and a climate-controlled storage solution to relieve persistent attic overcrowding in the courthouse records area.
Hesselbrock said offices across county government had used the attic for record storage and that the growing clutter posed safety and storage‑security concerns. "It is getting cluttered," she told the court, and urged that any courthouse renovation or long-term plan include secure, climate‑controlled storage. She suggested using some of the HB 537 funds or ARPA dollars to rent or purchase storage units or to rebuild and expand secure storage near the ambulance barn in a future administration.
Hesselbrock also warned the court that state reimbursement that helped with mail ballot postage during the 2020 election would not be available this cycle and that the county could face additional election costs such as postage, appointing a ballot processing committee, and installing cameras in locations that house voting equipment. She described contingency plans the county has used in previous cycles, including the use of E‑pollbooks and state-provided rosters if technology failed.
The court took the report for the record and approved the County Clerk's 2021 final settlement later in the meeting; no immediate appropriation of the HB 537 funds was voted that evening.
Why this matters
The deposit gives the clerk a discretionary supplement to address records preservation needs that have accumulated over years, but the court must still decide how to allocate the money. Clerk‑identified election costs are likely to appear in upcoming budget discussions or grant requests, and will affect operational planning for the 2022 election cycle.
