Polk County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller Stacy Butterfield was bestowed with three honors at the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers (FCCC) annual training conference.
Clerk Butterfield was awarded the top honor of Clerk of the Year by FCCC President and Martin County Clerk & Comptroller Carolyn Timmann.
“Clerk Butterfield can handle just about anything thrown her way,” Clerk Timmann said. “She tirelessly continues to serve others. She expertly led our efforts during this extremely important legislative session as the FCCC legislative chair. It was a big year, and it took a really calm hand at the wheel.”
The Clerk of the Year Award is presented to an FCCC member who has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and a commitment to improving the ability of Clerks and Comptrollers to serve Floridians through professional education, legislative action, and public awareness of the office.
Clerk Butterfield was also nominated by her fellow peers to Chair the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation (CCOC).
The CCOC was created at the direction of the Florida Legislature to provide professional budget support and workload performance standards for all 67 Clerks of Court to ensure fair and equitable allocation of the available resources needed to sustain court operations across the state.
“It is an honor to be elected as the CCOC chair,” Clerk Butterfield said. “The CCOC is a vital component of supporting the critical services clerks provide to their communities. I’ve been involved in the CCOC process since its inception by the legislature. I have also served on many statewide boards, committees, and supreme court workgroups, so I look forward to the opportunity to serve in this position and further strengthen the funding measures that support clerks’ essential services.”
Clerk Butterfield also served as the FCCC legislative chair for the 2023 session and has been re-selected to serve as chair for the coming session.
Clerks had two priority bills this session that both were passed by the legislature and await the governor’s consideration. House Bill 977 (Senate Bill 1130) establish statutory redirects of new recurring revenues, estimated at $24.1 million. The bills, sponsored by Representative Botana and Senator Hutson, provide the first new, recurring redirect of revenues since 2017.
“Stable and adequate funding is essential to ensure that clerks can provide their critical services that impact public safety, access to justice, and commerce,” Clerk Butterfield. “At the start of this year, there was a gap of approximately $36 million between the clerks’ needs-based budget and the expected funds directed to clerks. We have worked for many years to establish a stable funding mechanism that best serves our communities. We made significant progress this year, and we are grateful for the legislature’s efforts. We look forward to building upon this success next year to ensure our communities receive the critical services they need.”
The Polk Clerk’s office also received 10 best practices awards at the conference this year. The office was recognized for its excellence in managing Appeals, Court Record Retention and Destruction, Determination of Indigency, Evidence Storage and Destruction, Exploitation of Vulnerable Adult Injunction, Guardianship Audits, Reporting Mental Health Cases to State Agencies, Requests to Redact Exempt Personal Information, Risk Protection Orders, and Unclaimed Funds. This adds to the 11 awards the office has won in previous years.
“These awards are an honor and a testament to my team’s commitment to excellence. We continuously strive to provide the best service possible,” Clerk Butterfield said. “Our community can be confident that our office goes above and beyond to ensure we excel in all areas of our work.”