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Walker County court approves temporary records-scanning clerk funded by clerk fees
Summary
The Commissioner's Court approved a temporary, part-time records-scanning position funded from dedicated county clerk records-management and archive accounts to reduce a backlog of historical case files and preserve permanent records. The position will be paid from fee accounts, not general revenue.
The Walker County Commissioner's Court on a voice vote approved a temporary part-time records-scanning clerk position to reduce a backlog of historical court records and support statutory records-retention duties.
County Clerk (unnamed in the record) told commissioners the clerk's office is responsible for preserving permanent public records dating to the late 1800s and that scanning backlog includes thousands of civil, probate and criminal files. The clerk said the county holds roughly $382,000 in a records management account and about $250,000 in a records archive account dedicated by statute to support digitization and archiving efforts. "This project can be fully funded for over a decade using existing dedicated revenue while preserving irreplaceable records," the clerk said.
The presentation listed an estimate of about 1,700 total hours of scanning work. At the stated 30 hours per week, that amount of work would be roughly 57 weeks (about 1.1 years) of labor for one part-time position — a correction to the presenter's slide math, which indicated a much longer period. The court heard the position's hourly estimate ($20 per hour at 30 hours weekly), the five-year projected cost (about $156,000), and a 10-year illustration ($312,000) if sustained beyond five years. The clerk said the funds generate more than $100,000 per year and that the position would not draw on general revenue.
Commissioners said a dedicated scanning worker would immediately increase productivity, let front-counter clerks focus on daily filings and customer service, and protect irreplaceable records. After a motion, second and a hands-up voice vote, the court approved the temporary part-time position to be funded from clerk fee accounts.
The presentation cited Texas Local Government Code sections regarding records retention and authorized fee use (Local Government Code 3.002; 191.003; 194.001; 118.011; 118.052). Court minutes show no amendments to the funding plan; commissioners approved the request as presented.
The court did not provide a named timeline for hiring; next procedural steps are to finalize the job posting and bring personnel paperwork to the court for processing.
