Clerk of Court Doug Welborn Annual Report to People of East Baton Rouge

East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court Doug Welborn told the Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon that his office is all about customer service.
In his Annual Report to the People of the Parish, Welborn said, “We strive to be a user-friendly office with a special emphasis on customer service, embracing technological advances but making sure that the human side of public service remains strongly in place.”
During his 30-minute report, Welborn also made a pitch for local citizens to offer to serve as commissioners during the upcoming fall elections.
Brandon Abadie, supervisor of elections in the Clerk’s office, said the number of precincts in the parish has grown from 243 when Welborn took office to 315 precinct today.  As a result, the need for election commissioners has grown from 1,200 commissioners at each election in the parish in 1991 to 1,600 today.  Commissioners are paid $200 a day for their work.  But there is always a need for more good people to serve, Abadie said.  Anyone interested should contact the Elections Department at the Clerk’s office by calling (225) 295-4765. The Clerk is the chief elections officer in the parish and will have many responsibilities for this fall’s elections.
In his Annual Report, Welborn recounted his office’s accomplishments and discussed goals for the future.
Recent innovations include:
•    Mortgage and conveyance documents have been imaged from 1811 to the present.  This includes more than 26 million images, which are now available on-line, and that number is increasing daily, Welborn said.
•    The Clerk currently serves 1,108 businesses and 169 government agencies with online access to records.
•    Mortgage and conveyance indexes are available online from 1973 to present.  Court records have been imaged from 2007 to  present.
•    The availability of such important documents online has been a source of revenue for the Clerk’s office.  Last year, the office sold 321,714 copies online.
•    Electronic certification of documents has reduced the time to produce a certified copy from 2.5 minutes to 10 seconds.  It has also allowed online users to create certified copies.
•    The installation of the FileOnQ evidence system has built the foundation for an excellent system of evidence tracking.
•    Electronic filling of Bills of Information from the District Attorney’s office has reduced the time to create a Bill of Information from 10 minutes to 2.5 minutes.
•    Electronic filing of traffic tickets from the Sheriff’s office and electronic filing of tickets billed by the District Attorney have reduced the traffic state from four to one employee.
•    Acceptance of electronic payments of traffic tickets to the Sheriff’s office has been made available.
•    Electronic notifications to the Department of Public Safety to flag drivers licenses have eliminated the need to send physical letters.
•    The connection to the Coursey branch of the Clerk’s office has been upgraded and a redundant connection has been added.
Welborn said his office is pursuing a number of important goals for the near future, including the following:
•    Index books from 1811 to 1972 will be available online to research the images already imaged.
•    Electronically recording documents into the official record.
•    The ability to electronically file civil, family, and probate records and criminal matters.  The electronic filing of bonds and affidavits of probable court from the parish prison.
•    The certification of court minutes online will be available.  Older court minute books will be scanned and available online.
•    Notice of judgment cards will be mailed out to all parties.
•    An internal index of Oaths of Office will be made available.
Welborn praised the new evidence room his office has installed and said it is the best in America.
He pledged to continue to work to upgrade the Clerk’s office and serve the people of the parish.
The Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon is sponsored by the Republican Party of EBR.  It meets at noon on the second Tuesday of each month at Cafe Americain.