Provide public education and awareness through community outreach and engagement

The Clerk’s office continues to increase public knowledge of the Clerk’s role in the community through educational engagement efforts and community outreach. 

Education

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clerk's office quickly embraced technology to continue its engagement with students, the community, and legislative groups and organizations in order to teach them about the Clerk's role in the judicial system, new services, and provide a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of the office. Throughout 2021, the Clerk's office coordinated with local schools and organizations such as Polk Vision Leadership and Leadership Lakeland to encourage members of the community of all ages to get involved in local government and build a bright future for Polk County.

Community

The Clerk's office recognizes the importance of giving back to the community it serves. In 2021, the Clerk's office coordinated and participated  in a variety of events to give back to the Polk County community. Employees participated in Thanksgiving Food drives and donated gifts for the residents of the Rohr Home to provide holiday cheer during a difficult time for assisted living facility residents. Additionally, employees signed more than 250 holiday cards to distribute to Rohr Home residents and through Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE) to show love and support for our elderly neighbors during a particularly difficult and isolating holiday season. We continued our support of the United Way of Central Florida and raised $4,173.47 over the course of 2021.

Operation Green Light

Once a year Clerks throughout the state hold Operation Green Light, a driver's license reinstatement event. At this time, Clerks waive collection fees applied to delinquent court fines, including traffic tickets, providing customers the opportunity to save up to 40 percent on their fines. Once paid, customers are able to proceed with the reinstatement of their driver's license. During the 2021 event, 363 customers paid their cases in full; 440 customers established payment plans; 767 cases were pulled from collection agencies; 47 customers were able to reinstate their driver's license; and an additional 427 customers became eligible for driver's license reinstatement.

Valentine's Day Group Wedding

Every Valentine's Day marks a day of celebration for the couples that participate in the Clerk's Group Valentine's Day Wedding. The event provides a stress-free ceremony and light reception for couples and their guests, and the standard $30 marriage fee is waived by the Clerk as a gift to the couples. Fourteen happy couples tied-the-knot at the eighth annual wedding in 2021.

Passport Day

Each year the Clerk's office opens its doors for a Saturday passport event, giving residents an opportunity to apply for a passport without having to take time off of work to do so. In 2021, our office processed 52 passport applications and took 46 photos during our Saturday passport event.

Continue to deliver exceptional customer service through increased convenience by implementing the latest cutting-edge technology in our services

In an increasingly online world, the Clerk’s office is more dedicated than ever to performing our constitutional and legislative duties required in the most efficient way possible while providing unparalleled customer service online, over the phone, and in-person. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the critical role technology plays in providing the public ease-of-access to crucial services offered by the office. In 2021, the Clerk's office enhanced existing online services and prepared to implement new technology in 2022 that expands the self-help options available to Polk residents.

Self-Help Workgroup

Clerk Butterfield has been appointed by Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady to serve on the newly formed Workgroup on Access to Justice.

The Big Picture:

The Workgroup will pursue projects that “will focus on improvements that can be made within the State Courts System to assist self-represented litigants and support the judicial branch in ensuring effective access to justice for all.” 

Dig Deeper:

Accordingly, the Workgroup is directed to: 

1. Develop educational materials to assist self-represented litigants in participating in court proceedings that are conducted using remote technology. 

2. Identify barriers that prevent electronic filing by self-represented litigants and strategies to reduce or eliminate the barriers. 

3. Recommend a plan to advance the use of electronic filing by self-represented litigants.

What it Means:

Polk County residents can expect to see more self-help tools and resources in the near future. Learn more about the function and mission of the workgroup by visiting the Florida Supreme Court website.

Distinguished Best Practices

The Polk County Clerk's office received recognition of excellence awards for best practices in Compliance Services, Confidential Judicial Records, Guardianship Audits, Marriage Licenses, Recording Fundamentals, and Service of Pro Se documents at the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers summer conference. Our office was one of 40 Clerk offices statewide that participated in the Association's Best Practices Excellence Program.

What it Means:

Polk County residents can rest assured that their Clerk's office works to go above and beyond to ensure that we excel in all areas of our work.

Maintain transparency and accountability in County Government through accurate reporting and safeguarding of public funds

As Polk County Comptroller, the Clerk is responsible for maintaining transparency and accountability in county government through accurate reporting and safeguarding of public funds.

Excellence in Financial Reporting

The Polk County Clerk's office and the Board of County Commissioners together earned the coveted Triple Crown Medallion from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), the national authority on best practices in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

Dive Deeper:

The newly created award is bestowed on communities that earn all three of GFOA’s awards for the same reporting year. Polk is one of 12 counties in Florida to receive this honor. The three awards include:

• An award for the 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, a recognition that the Clerk’s office has earned for 40 consecutive years. This report is a detailed, spreadsheet-heavy report that contains the financials for the Clerk’s office, the BOCC, and the four other constitutional offices.
• An award for the 2019 Popular Annual Financial Report. This is the 19th consecutive year the Clerk’s office has received this award. This is a condensed summary of the more detailed comprehensive report. While not required, the Clerk’s office produces this report to provide residents with a concise summary of how their county resources are used.
• The Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the 2019-2020 Budget, an accomplishment that the BOCC has earned since 1990. This report serves as the BOCC’s spending policy, operations guide, financial plan, and communications tool.

Learn More:

The financial reports are available in the Public Funds section of our site.

Inspector General Completes Re-Accreditation

The Clerk’s Department of Inspector General (IG) earned re-accreditation by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) in 2021.

Dive Deeper:

 The CFA approved the accreditation during the Commission’s virtual meeting on Feb. 18. To maintain accreditation, the Inspector General must complete the accreditation process every three years, and must comply with 46 standards and undergo rigorous inspections in order to earn re-accreditation. This is the second re-accreditation the Inspector General has earned since its initial accreditation by the CFA in 2015.

Of the 67 county clerks in Florida, the Polk County Clerk Inspector General was the third to become accredited. A total of five Clerk Inspector General Offices across the State of Florida are currently accredited.

What it Means:

The strength of Polk County relies on a healthy government and trust in our elected officials and county operations. The Inspector General's audits and investigations are designed to add value and improve Polk government operations, which means the Polk County community can have trust and confidence in its government.

Learn more about the Inspector General and how you can report suspected fraud, waste, and abuse of county funds or guardianship assets by visiting the Inspector General's webpage.