The Indiana State Constitution
established the Office of Clerk of Circuit Court to serve as the record
keeper for the Warrick County Circuit Court. Shannon was elected by the
residents of Warrick County and by law is limited to serving two
consecutive terms. The Clerk of Court also serves as the County Election
Board Secretary, responsible for conducting all elections, including vote
certification.
The Clerk functions as the Court's chief financial officer and collects,
disburses, and reconciles monies related to the court, collecting filing
fees, court costs, and judgments in both civil and criminal cases.
Shannon's office also collects fees and fines for deferral and pretrial
diversion action, as well as bail bond monies. Additionally the Clerk
collects child support payments and receives and administers Court ordered
fines paid directly to the Clerk's Office.
Each Recorder's and Clerk's office is audited annually by the
Indiana State Board of Accounts. In 15 years worth of audits, as
both Recorder and Clerk, Shannon's office has never been cited for
lost, stolen or mishandled monies.
In 2002 the
federal government passed the Help America Vote Act which banned
punch card voting and mandated that states incorporate electronic
voting. It was estimated that this would cost Warrick County
$625,000 and Shannon applied for and obtained a federal grant that
required the county to only pay $125,000 to meet this federal
mandate, saving the taxpayers of Warrick County $500,000.
Shannon also instituted another
part of the Help America Vote Act that allows her office to verify
that an individual is only registered once in the state of Indiana,
also allowing voter's to determine their precinct information
online. This change will enable the county in the future, to allow
voters to vote at any voting location within the county, possibly
saving the county over $50,000 per election and requiring almost 300
fewer poll workers on election day.
Shannon's office has also
implement a number of changes that have allowed items that were
previously only hand written and stored on paper to be input and
saved electronically. This is also saving the taxpayers money and
making the information retrievable instantaneously, county and
statewide.
Some examples include the Marriage
License process, that is now done electronically allowing the
information to be processed and retrieved instantly by the state,
this process again was implemented at no additional cost to the
county. Previously it took up to two years for all this information
to be processed at the state level. Shannon has personally preformed
over 300 marriages since becoming clerk.
Her office is now connected
electronically to the state for Tax Warrants and BMV information
enabling them to create forms for purchasing a new home instantly or
for getting your license reinstated. Previously this would have
taken much longer dealing with mailing and receiving paper copies of
forms.
Another implementation and
possibly one of the most critical, in terms of record retention and
protection, is the process where the office's records and documents
are now being scanned individually for electronic storage. In
addition to allowing for obtaining faster retrieval it also allows
for safer retention by having this information stored offsite for
backup protection in case of a local disaster where records are
destroyed.
For further information about the
Treasurers
Office see the official website link below:
Warrick
County Treasurers Office
Shannon looks to build on the successes
of her previous four years while continuing to support the members of
Warrick County. Her staff is renowned for their politeness and the
can do attitude that people respect and appreciate.
If you wish to contact Shannon for help
on any issue that the Clerks office deals with feel free to email her at:
Board
Member of St. Mary's Warrick Foundation.