CLERK / RECORDER, REGISTRAR, CLERK OF THE BOARD
MISSION STATEMENT
NA
DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW
Clerk Recorded
County Clerk is ex officio Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and issuer/maintainer of various certificates and vital and other records, oaths, appointments; County Recorder keeps and preserves all books, records, deeds, maps and papers deposited and kept in the office and it is the duty of the Recorder to record or cause to be recorded property (and other) documents correctly. In Mono County the Clerk-Recorder is in the same office and performs all duties simultaneously.
Board of Supervisors
County Clerk is ex-officio Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (Government Code Section 25100 and 26801); serves as support for Board of Supervisors, Assessment Appeals Board, Personnel Appeals Board and various other boards as requested.
Elections
Conduct all elections held in Mono County, including statewide primary, general and special elections as well as local elections for Mono County, Town of Mammoth Lakes, Special Districts, and School Districts.
CHALLENGES, ISSUES & OPPORTUNITIES
As with the other two budget units within our Department, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now facing the challenge of continuing to provide excellent customer service in an uncertain environment. We are prepared for and are working toward reinstating all counter services (using appropriate social distancing, barriers, sanitization, masks, etc.). We know that going forward, these precautions will continue to be required for the unforeseeable future, but our team is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to serve the public. We are obviously in uncertain economic times as well (as reflected by budget cuts across the County), and that means tackling new projects is a bit prohibitive. We are currently down one staff person but hope to have the vacant position filled as soon as possible. Even with all the challenges we are likely to face in the coming fiscal year, we will also have opportunities to become more efficient and find solutions to problems not thought of before. We have a good team in place (and hope to add another quality staff member soon) that steps up, works diligently to solve problems and looks for ways to make the department better.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posted many challenges for the Clerk of the Board. With all meetings becoming virtual in nature, our office has had to perform duties in an entirely different way. We anticipate these challenges to continue or recur if we have a new wave of COVID this fall/winter.
Unfortunately, there is not extra money in this year’s budget to do any big projects. Last FY, we approached the Board with the possibility of implementing some type of fund to help build fees to then use to digitize all Board related documents. While this idea was met with enthusiasm, we were not able to get any momentum between preparing for and conducting the General Election in November of 2019, the March 2020 Primary and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We feel this is a worthwhile project, but also know that funds are going to be tight this FY. We plan to keep this as a potential future project when economic times are not so uncertain.
The November 2020 General Election is going to be extremely challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we will be mailing ballots to every voter in our county (as required by the State), we will also be asked to offer in-person voting opportunities based on our number of registered voters. This will likely also include early voting days at these in-person voting locations up to three days prior to the election. This means we will have to staff these locations with volunteers, who at the present time are not all that anxious to be AT a polling location. While the in-person voting options will be minimal, we will still be required to follow state guidelines at any poll places we offer in our county. This will include social distancing, PPE, plexiglass, sanitizing agents, etc. This will be a stretch for our small county and will require some innovative and creative solutions. We will work with the State, the Board, other county departments, fellow Registrars, and each other to ensure the November 2020 Election is handled efficiently, safely, and transparently.
DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
CORE SERVICE & PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Recording/maintaining property documents (we offer E-recording, a valuable and time saving service); processing/maintaining/providing vital records (birth/death records, and marriage licenses – available online through VitalChek or at the counter/by mail); Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) Form 700 filing office; processing/maintaining Fictitious Business Name (FBN) applications; processing variety of notices (i.e. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notices); maintaining roster of County Public Agencies; maintaining all County Contracts; serve as Clerk of the Board of Supervisors; perform marriages; keep website updated; prepare budget. The Clerk-Recorder’s Office implements and follows new laws as they become approved.
Clerk of the Board functions include: managing/preparing agendas and packets, attending meetings, preparing minutes, processing minutes orders, resolutions and ordinances, updates to BOS website, assisting Board members as needed and budget preparation. We also clerk other meetings as required/requested. These services are not mandated.
This budget funds all the Board of Supervisor salaries/benefits, their training activities both locally and out of the county, the Assessment Appeals Board staffing and other Board staffing, as needed.
This is a mandated function. Registrar maintains County’s Voter Registration Database and keeps it updated, performs all task/duties required to successfully run an election (includes keeping up with and following current legislation, Candidate filings, ballot preparation, poll worker management, management of ballot mailing and receipt, and miscellaneous duties as required. The Registrar also updates website and prepares annual budget.
CORE SERVICES
DEPARTMENTAL ACTION PLAN FOR 2020-2021
As mentioned above, we will work towards working within the COVID-19 requirements to carry on and provide excellent customer service. Although we do not anticipate spending money on any large project, we can and will begin researching ways to implements an online search engine for recorded documents to be used by the public. We will involve IT in this research and look for ways to do this in a very cost-effective way – even if it cannot be completed till next fiscal year. We are also very interested in taking part/assisting in the county fee restructure which I know is an ongoing project. Increasing our fees would help with revenue which would then assist in being able to work on some of our tactics.
For this fiscal year, and in light of the ongoing COVID-19 requirements, the Clerk of the Board needs to continue focusing on producing legally sound agendas, providing proper in-person meeting options, clerking additional meetings and providing continued/ongoing support for the Board members. We are interested in continuing to pursue digitizing board documents (perhaps using fees that could get put into an account monthly over time) as well as researching a new agenda platform, due to Novus becoming obsolete in the not too distant future. We are, however, cognizant of the budget restraints for this fiscal year. So, while we can research these projects and gather information to give to the board, we don’t anticipate being able to complete any this fiscal year.
For the one scheduled election this fiscal year, the November General Election, we will be taxed with providing an extensive outreach and education campaign to encourage voters to vote by mail to maintain social distancing for everyone’s safety. This will require lots of radio ads, print ads and appearing via any virtual and in-person meetings we can in order to saturate our county with information. We will work to instill confidence in voting by mail. We will further explain the required in-person voting availability. We should be able to measure these things based on our vote by mail return percentage and voter’s experience at the polls. As mentioned in the other narratives, we will not be attempting any large projects this fiscal year due to al the budget constraints but we will certainly be working hard to pull of an error-free, transparent and rewarding election in November.
POSITION SUMMARY
MEASUREMENTS, RESULTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
This is in progress. https://www.monocounty.ca.gov/strategic-planning and https://monocounty.quickbase.com/db/bke733bw6
Strategic Result #1
MONTHLY UPDATE
In this section, go into further detail about the data or media being shown. Think about how the visualizations help tell your story.
Make your content more accessible by writing short sentences, choosing words and phrases you’d use when talking to a neighbor, and avoiding jargon.
Strategic Result #2
MONTHLY UPDATE
In this section, go into further detail about the data or media being shown. Think about how the visualizations help tell your story.
Make your content more accessible by writing short sentences, choosing words and phrases you’d use when talking to a neighbor, and avoiding jargon.
Strategic Result #3
MONTHLY UPDATE
In this section, go into further detail about the data or media being shown. Think about how the visualizations help tell your story.
Make your content more accessible by writing short sentences, choosing words and phrases you’d use when talking to a neighbor, and avoiding jargon.