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Lake County clerk warns staffing shortfalls will strain election and recording duties
Summary
County Clerk Amy Hutchinson told the board that election and records workloads require more staffing: the office processed about 1,900 recorded documents last year, training a part‑time hire takes roughly 90 days, and election season requires extra hours that currently outstrip available staff.
County Clerk Amy Hutchinson told commissioners the clerk’s office handles a wide range of statutorily required tasks — recording deeds and mortgages, administering elections, issuing marriage licenses, managing public records and serving as the county contact for the Government Ethics Commission — and that current staffing levels create a risk of unlawful or limited service during peak periods.
Hutchinson said the office recorded about 1,900 documents last fiscal year across 111 document types (roughly 800 deeds) and that many document types occur infrequently, which complicates training. She said it takes about 90 days to train a part‑time employee to reach roughly 75–80% efficiency and that the May election season alone requires an estimated 29.5 additional hours over a 12‑week period. Unscheduled recalls can compress statutory timeframes further, reducing the margin for staff shortfalls.
The clerk presented several mitigation options discussed with staff: add 16 part‑time hours per week; reassign 12 hours from business services to help; temporarily reduce public hours under a fiscal emergency declaration; or, as a last resort, request a gubernatorial election emergency and have the Secretary of State assist. Commissioners asked staff to explore the part‑time hiring and shared‑hours options and to return with cost estimates and a staffing plan.
