Fiscal Court sets county clerk salary cap, approves 2025 clerk budget

The Spencer County Fiscal Court on Jan. 9 set the county clerk’s maximum expendable amount for deputies and assistants at $391,000 for 2025 and approved the clerk’s budget figures for the year.

County Clerk Lynn Hesselbrock asked the court to allow the same maximum amount as the prior year and requested two additional deputies, an administrative assistant and a full-time deputy for the deed room to take over recording duties. Court members questioned whether the clerk’s office would guarantee being open during lunch; Hesselbrock said she would not make that promise. Esq. Stump and Esq. Eldridge pressed the clerk on lunch-hour coverage; the minutes record the clerk’s response as, "no," to promising extended hours.

A motion by Esq. Travis, seconded by Esq. Pharris, set the clerk’s salary cap at $391,000; the minutes indicate the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all members present voting aye. The court later approved the clerk’s 2025 budget and settlement figures as presented (the minutes list a Clerk budget figure of $714,702.00 and include supporting budget reconciliation material in the packet).

The minutes record the clerk’s staffing request and her statement on likely fee collection (she told the court she did not expect to collect and remit additional fees beyond current levels). The action recorded in the minutes sets the cap and approves the budget; the record contains no further details about hiring timelines or effective dates for new positions.