Office Update from Thurston County Clerk
Changes continue to move the Clerk’s Office in new and exciting directions. I have continued to make use of the “Clerk’s Alert” to inform you of some of the changes to business practices – with the constant goal of improving the accessibility of court documents and services.
Some of these changes are due to the budget constraints of the County and the loss of staff. While other changes are just technology driven for better service. The first thing that was addressed was the general “flow” of the documents that arrive for filing each day. We average approximately 27,500 documents a month between the two offices, with 60% filed at the main courthouse and 40% filed at the family/juvenile court facility.
Each document is time-stamped, prepped and scanned into our Liberty imaging system immediately. The staff then checks the image for clarity, imports the document, and electronically routes it to the appropriate staff for processing. This replaces the “old” way where the document was sorted with copies made for outside departments needing the information immediately. The document was then placed into a sorting bin waiting to be processed by staff before it could be scanned. With our new process, staff receives the routed document, views the document electronically, and completes the processing. The document is then available for viewing and printing by the public. Expedited documents are sent electronically to the judge or commissioner immediately (and the paper documents are filed in the appropriate file). Copies of documents needed by outside agencies are now sent electronically. Almost all of the work completed by the Clerk’s Office is now done electronically. This has cut down on expenses and the amount of time staff spends handling the paper documents.
The changes to our business plan on how the documents were handled upon receipt necessitated a change at the front counter. There is still two counter staff at each office, although you may not always see both of them. At FJC, one is behind the scenes scanning and meeting other responsibilities important to keep up with the needs of the public. This staff is available to assist at the front, immediately, when needed. With staff in court, there are times we have limited resources and lines are formed, especially during ex parte time. We are attempting to schedule extra back up during those extra busy times.
It has always been my goal to transition to a “Paper on Demand” court and I feel that we are well on our way. Each step has been carefully considered and tested before we open up the processes to all of our users. Here are some exciting new services we offer in an effort to reach our goals:
eCommerce e-Commerce went live in April 2009. It is a service that was created by our System Manager, which allows the public to purchase copies of documents from our website (www.co.thurston.wa.us/clerk). An individual now has instant access (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to their documents (no confidential or sealed information) from their home or office; that has reduced the amount of copy requests that staff receives, which results in more time for them to work on other duties and shorter lines at the counters. This service has been particularly helpful for parties out of the area and unable to travel to the courthouse.
E-Filing The
Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Office of Assigned Counsel, and several departments of the Attorney General’s Office are now electronically filing documents. We have spent a great deal of time creating the ability to e-file, testing the process, and monitoring the program and its success. Since the start of the beta testing, we have received 5,840 documents filed electronically; which means that none of those documents came across our counter for staff to scan and process and saved the user the time to travel to the court and wait in line.
We are now ready to allow local attorneys to file documents electronically. If you are interested in participating in the beta testing for E-filing, I am asking you to email me at gouldb@nullco.thurston.wa.us. Once I receive the information, we will work with you individually, to make sure you have the technology and ability to file documents electronically into our Liberty imaging system.
In closing, I hope to be regularly reporting the changes and updates in my office in future publications. Some of the upcoming issues/items will be the new Family Safety Center, Dismissal Fees, LFO Collections, the new Clerk’s Office website, and much more. Please visit our website at www.co.thurston.wa.us/clerk for valuable information resources, FAQ’s, policies and procedures.
As always, I would like to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns and would welcome suggestions for topics that you would like addressed in an upcoming issue.
Betty J. Gould
THURSTON COUNTY CLERK