OFFICE OF THE CLERK FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT NORFOLK CIRCUIT COURT

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1 26 Clerk s Office Annual Report

Evans Licenses, Permits and Finance DaVida M.

2 Clerk of Court George E. Schaefer Chief Deputy Thomas A. Larson OFFICE OF THE CLERK FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT NORFOLK CIRCUIT COURT 1 Saint Paul s Boulevard Norfolk, Virginia 251 (757) Supervising Deputies Criminal Gerald L. Stokes Civil Michele M. Evans Licenses, Permits and Finance DaVida M. Davis Wills, Estates and Deeds To: The Honorable City Council Members and City Manager From: George Schaefer, Clerk of Circuit Court CC: Budget Director, Circuit Court Chief Judge Subj: Annual State of the Circuit Court Clerk s Office Report Date: March 6, 27 Ladies and Gentlemen; Another year has past under my term as Clerk of the Circuit Court. The past year has seen a whirlwind of activity in the Clerk s Office from building enhancements to technology improvements. Since my last report to you, we have accomplished every goal that was set and improved areas related to those goals. As you are well aware, using technology and automation brings significant upfront costs in not only equipment, but also in staff training. Working with the Supreme Court of Virginia Office of the Executive Secretary, we have been able to minimize costs in both equipment and staff training areas. This partnership has allowed us to use our collected Technology Trust Funds for all enhancements without the need for additional funds from the city. We have fine-tuned the manpower study I implemented last year and continue to reduce the need for additional staff. The Compensation Board has again taken these figures and recalculated staffing needs across the Commonwealth. We have seen a tremendous rise in our case statistics during the past year and can expect these numbers to continue to grow. We began the process of moving to a paperless courthouse during the later part of the calendar year. We will continue that process into 27 with the addition of high-speed desktop scanners and new Case Imaging software. Fax: (757) Criminal Division Fax: (757) Wills, Deeds and Estates Division Fax: (757)

3 We have worked with the Supreme Court to develop a Public Access version of our CAISFORM program that allows the public to complete routine forms on a public computer terminal. This will save untold man-hours during the year as we incorporate each digital form. A major change in services during the past year was the changeover of the General Receiver duties from Glasser and Glasser to my office. We lowered costs and negotiated a higher interest rate thereby increasing the return on the invested amounts for the recipient of the trust funds. This was a major undertaking with over 5 trust accounts valued at roughly $5,,. dollars. We continue receipting and disbursing restitution payments to victims. Since actively pursuing funds through the Tax Set-off program, we have been able to recoup more funds owed to victims. We also developed additional steps now being put in place by the Commonwealth s Attorney to ensure collection capabilities for restitution Restitution to Victims Restitution Paid to Victims 26 Restitution Paid to Victims 25 Restitution Paid to Victims 2 Restitution Paid to Victims 2 Restitution Paid to Victims 22 $16,. $1,. $12,. $ $1,. $8,. $6,. $ $,. $2,. $. $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 1 7 $ Our Secure Remote Access continues to be a big hit among Title Examiners, Attorneys, Law Enforcement and the Federal and State Government. We remain in partnership with several City of Norfolk Departments, such as City Attorney, Real Estate, Building and Codes, HRUBS, to provide access as needed. We continue the process of back-scanning our land records, reducing the need for physical storage space of paper files. We have digitized all land records back to 19 and are beginning a project in conjunction with the Library of Virginia to convert images back to 197. We continue to push for the implementation of electronic filing of land records and some criminal and civil filings. This office has been and continues to be an integral part of the Electronic Recording Workgroup through the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA)

4 as well as the electronic data exchange group established by the United States Office of Justice Programs (USOJP) through the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). This Court and Clerk s Office sit on the Electronic Filing Committee established by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and has been chosen as the pilot program for Virginia. The importance of our participation in these groups is evidenced by the total number of cases, both criminal and civil filed this past year as well as the ever increasing numbers of marriage licenses, concealed weapons permits, judgments, restitution, time to pay plans, etc. that are processed by this office. Examples: Criminal Cases concluded in CY6: 1,15 (up 2.7%) Civil Cases opened in CY6: 7,28 (up 1.5%) Will documents processed in CY6: 6, (up 6%) Land Record documents processed in CY6: 5,8 (up 2.1%) Other (marriage license, weapons permits, trade names, etc.):, (up 7.5%) As you can readily see from the numbers above, our case filings continue to rise. Much of this is attributed to changes in procedures and allowing the citizen s to play a larger role. The changes noted in the CY25 report concerning Senate Bill 1118 (the merger of Law & Chancery), effective January 1, 26, has been completed with little effect on manpower or services. Our customers have noted increased efficiencies and a higher level of service as a result of this merger. The trend in home sales has slowed, but not significantly. We saw a 2.1% increase in land record transactions over 25. Considering the age of our population we continue to see an increase (6%) in probate documents (wills and estates) processed over 25. Recordation Taxes $,,. $,5,. $,,. $2,5,. $2,,. $1,5,. FY1 FY2 FY FY FY5 FY6 $1,,. $5,. $. 126

5 Estate Probate Taxes $5,. $,. $5,. $,. $25,. $2,. $15,. FY1 FY2 FY FY FY5 FY6 $1,. $5,. $. 151 Working closely with Sheriff s Office staff, we have been able to forgive $,. dollars in court cost debt in exchange for community service work performed by inmates in the Sheriff s Office Work Release Program. We continue to review each area of revenue on both the state and local level, ensuring a maximum collection of costs for the city and state treasury. With the increase in recordation tax, we saw a significant jump in city and state revenue. It appears that this trend may slow only slightly during CY 27 as additional housing units come available and interest rates stabilize. Passport Services continue to be a big hit with the public. We have processed 22 passport applications this year. Working in concert with the State Department, there was no reduction in turn-around time despite the destruction of our assigned passport facility in New Orleans Passports Comparison Passports Issued 26 Passports Issued 25 Passports Issued

6 Cash flow through this office hit almost $7 million dollars in calendar year 26, a 15.7% increase over 25. $,,. Revenue FY1 FY2 FY FY FY5 FY6 $,5,. $,,. $2,5,. $2,,. $1,5,. $1,,. $5,. $. My campaign promise to hire only Norfolk residents and ensure this office resembles the city that we work in has paid tremendous results. We boast a full compliment of highly qualified, personable staff, of whom nearly 8% call Norfolk home. Please find attached statistics from 26. I have included, as a part of this package, graphs that we employ to determine the ebb and flow of the activities at the courthouse. This gives us the ability to manage our staff efficiently and foresee problem areas. Thank you for your time and I look forward to a continued partnership between the Circuit Court and the City we serve. Very truly yours; George E. Schaefer Clerk of Circuit Court

7 22-26 Divorces Filed Comparison Divorces Filed 26 Divorces Filed 25 Divorces Filed 2 Divorces Filed 2 Divorces Filed Civil Suits Filed Comparison Civil Suits Filed 26 Civil Suits Filed 25 Civil Suits Filed 2 Civil Suits Filed 2 Civil Suits Filed 22

8 Total Cases Commenced 26 Total Cases Commenced 25 Total Cases Commenced Total Criminal Cases Concluded Total Cases Concluded 26 Total Cases Concluded 25 Total Cases Concluded 2 Total Cases Concluded 2 Total Cases Concluded 22

9 22-25 Receipt Totals Comparison $2,89,26. $2,87,81.9 $1,88,5.95 $516,5.6 $2,2,52.89 $2,8, $1,72, $516,5.6 $2,55,8.5 $2,6,88.61 $516,5.6 $2,298,579. $2,2,7.99 $2,85,92. $516,5.6 $2,765,17.16 $2,2,9. $1,68,17.2 $516,5.6 $2,2,7.59 $2,5,.5 $1,88,658.8 $516,5.6 $,7,6.5 $2,9,9. $2,89,11.88 $516,5.6 $2,55,58.2 $2,722,1. $1,97,. $516,5.6 $2,8, $2,7,6.6 $1,6,1.12 $516,5.6 $2,799,99.18 $2,529,9.5 $2,17,99.2 $516,5.6 $2,51,86.5 $2,26,5.8 $1,925,172.2 $516,5.6 $2,21,9.78 $2,,7.57 $2,6,951.8 $516,5.6 $5,79,6.2 $6,,. $5,,. $,,. $,,. $2,,. $1,,. $. Receipt Total 26 Receipt Total 25 Receipt Total 2 Receipt Total 2 Receipt Total Clerk's Fees Comparison $ 15, 1. $2,1 9.6 $2, $167,6 2. $15, $ 15, 1. $217,9.7 $198,9 8.6 $1, 9.1 $15, $ 15, 1. $21,7.7 $28, $175,8 8.8 $15, $ 15, 1. $222,8.9 $21, 11. $188,.9 $15, $ 15, 1. $2,7.5 $, 28. $1, 2. $15, $ 15, 1. $2, 1.65 $21,5 8. $19, $15, $ 15, 1. $226, $217, $18, $15, $ 15, 1. $25, $25, $18, $15, $ 15, 1. $21,6 6.6 $225,6.66 $16,2 5. $15, $ 15, 1. $26, $218,1 85. $29, 1.55 $15, $ 15, 1. $21, $1, $27,2 7. $15, $ 15, 1. $19, 51.6 $25, $15, $2, $5,. $,. $25,. $2,. $15,. $1,. $5,. $. Clerk's Fees 26 Clerk's Fees 25 Clerk's Fees 2 Clerk's Fees 2 Clerk's Fees 22

10 22-26 Trade Names Comparison Trade Names/Misc 26 Trade Names/Misc 25 Trade Names/Misc 2 Trade Names/Misc 2 Trade Names/Misc Notary Applications Comparison Notary Applications 26 Notary Applications 25 Notary Applications 2 Notary Applications 2 Notary Applications 22

11 22-26 Concealed Weapons Permit Comparison Concealed Weapons Permits 26 Concealed Weapons Permits 25 Concealed Weapons Permits UCC Recordings Comparison UCC Recording 26 UCC Recording 25 UCC Recording 2 UCC Recording 2 UCC Recording 22

12 22-26 Marriage License Comparison Marriage Licenses 26 Marriage Licenses 25 Marriage Licenses 2 Marriage Licenses 2 Marriage Licenses Judgements Comparison Judgments 26 Judgments 25 Judgments 2 Judgments 2 Judgments 22

13 DD21 & Ordinations Comparison DD21 26 DD21 25 DD21 2 Ordination 26 Ordination 25 Ordination Will Documents Executed Comparison Will Documents Executed 26 Will Documents Executed 25 Will Documents Executed 2 Will Documents Executed 2 Will Documents Executed 22

14 22-26 Land Records Comparison Total Land Records 26 Total Land Records 25 Total Land Records 2 Total Land Records 2 Total Land Records Passports Comparison Passports Issued 26 Passports Issued 25 Passports Issued 2

15 22-26 Restitution to Victims Restitution Paid to Victims 26 Restitution Paid to Victims 25 Restitution Paid to Victims 2 Restitution Paid to Victims 2 Restitution Paid to Victims 22 $16,. $16,5.9 $17,1.2 $. $27,16.5 $,815. $. $2,79.9 $18,67.9 $. $6, $8,895.7 $. $2,9.55 $1,77.2 $. $27,657. $. $27,8.1 $15,617. $. $2,.25 $22,95.72 $. $1,61.17 $,618. $1,.99 $17,.28 $877.2 $2,89.95 $9,6.69 $,88.55 $2,.78 $,68.17 $6,8.7 $9,6. $18,979.7 $1,. $12,. $1,. $8,. $6,. $,. $2,. $. Estate Probate Taxes $5,. $,. $5,. $,. $25,. $2,. $15,. FY1 FY2 FY FY FY5 FY6 $1,. $5,. $. 151

16 Recordation Taxes $,,. $,5,. $,,. $2,5,. $2,,. $1,5,. FY1 FY2 FY FY FY5 FY6 $1,,. $5,. $. 126 $,,. Revenue FY1 FY2 FY FY FY5 FY6 $,5,. $,,. $2,5,. $2,,. $1,5,. $1,,. $5,. $.

DISTRICT COURT. Judges (not County positions) Court Administration POS/FTE 3/3. Family Court POS/FTE 39/36.5 CASA POS/FTE 20/12.38

DISTRICT COURT. Judges (not County positions) Court Administration POS/FTE 3/3. Family Court POS/FTE 39/36.5 CASA POS/FTE 20/12.38 DISTRICT COURT Judges (not County positions) Arbritration POS/FTE 3/3 Court Services POS/FTE 33/26.7 Court Administration POS/FTE 3/3 Probate POS/FTE 4/3.06 General Jurisdiction POS/FTE 38/35.31 Family