Johnson: Merging county offices makes little sense

Q. I read an article recently about a county commissioner in Hernando County who was proposing the merger of the offices of the Clerk of the Court, Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser, and Tax Collector into one entity, which would eliminate the four constitutional offices now in place. What are your thoughts on this?

A. I read too that a proposal was put forth to a recently-formed consolidation committee in Hernando County. Apparently, a committee was formed to look at possible areas among that county’s departments where duplicate services exist with the thought that elimination of redundant services among county entities could save taxpayers money.

A county commissioner in Hernando County went a little further and said there exists too much duplication of services in Hernando’s four constitutional offices, and he wanted the people there to vote on the idea during the 2012 presidential primary election. The proposal isn’t going anywhere at this time.

I personally don’t think this commissioner could have any real knowledge of the duties and services offered by the Clerk of the Court, Supervisor of Elections, Property Appraiser, or the Tax Collector, or such a proposal wouldn’t have been made. In Franklin County, these offices certainly don’t duplicate services. I don’t believe our county departments duplicate services either. Each constitutional office has specific, required duties set by law.

Of course, there are areas where one office has to perform a duty that another office must rely on in order to complete other tasks related to the subject matter. For example, the Tax Collector follows his lawful procedures when taxes aren’t paid timely with the sale of tax certificates, while the Clerk later handles the tax deed sales. This isn’t a duplication of service, but rather is a related service. I don’t know how any county commissioner could say what services the constitutional officers provide in full, because I work directly with these other three constitutional officers, and I couldn’t truthfully say I know more than the basics of the duties and services they provide. We each concentrate on our own offices.

To say that elimination of these four constitutional offices and the merger into one office would save taxpayer money doesn’t make sense to me. I can’t imagine any one person being responsible for the operation of all four offices. I believe it would create inefficiencies and diminish the checks and balances now in place with the separation of duties. It would certainly give one single person too much authority. Our offices were created by the Florida Constitution, we are responsible to the voters, and we provide completely separate services to the public. Our budgets are presented for approval; my employees stay extremely busy, and I’ve always been honest and forthcoming when questioned. I wouldn’t think any county commissioner in Franklin County would ever suggest a proposal like this one proposed in Hernando County..

If you have questions or comments about this column, please forward them to Marcia Johnson, Clerk of the Court, 33 Market Street, Ste. 203, Apalachicola, FL 32320, or by email to mmjohnson@franklinclerk.com. Visit the Clerk’s website at www.franklinclerk.com