County clerk outlines office services, online tools and 2024 activity

Leslie Hildendorf, Sanilac County clerk, gave a detailed annual report to the board on Aug. 5, describing the clerk's statutory duties as clerk of the board, clerk of the circuit court and family division, register of vital records and chief collection official. She highlighted online services for case search and payments and said the office handles candidate filings and election tabulation, sometimes working through the night during major elections.

"We are 1 of the busiest and most diverse offices in the building," Hildendorf said as she walked the board through the office's responsibilities and services. She reviewed multi-year trends that showed a post‑COVID decline in divorces but sustained increases in personal protection orders and other civil filings, discussed jury-summons return rates near 30%, and noted that certified-copy fees represent a significant revenue source for the office. Hildendorf also summarized 2024 dispersals from the clerk's office, which included $208,336.55 to the general fund and other mandated distributions.

Hildendorf demonstrated website features that allow residents to order birth, death and marriage records, renew concealed-pistol-license (CPL) applications online, and pay fines, and she described the office's role coordinating election test decks, machine programming and post‑election audits. The board voted to accept the clerk's annual report.

The presentation also touched on the re-monumentation fund and challenges with completing the statewide program, and Hildendorf said the office plans outreach to encourage veteran ID-card uptake and to publicize ARPA spending recaps.