Clerk of court splits time between Jefferson, Van Buren counties

Jefferson County Clerk of Court Barb Droz enjoys her job and is honored to have been appointed by judges to her position of responsibility.

Now she has doubled her area of responsibility, splitting her time between Jefferson and Van Buren counties.

?When I was hired, I was told there could be times and situations when I would also cover duties in other counties,? said Droz.

Droz began working a few days a week in Van Buren County on March 2, after long-time Clerk of Court Nina Story retired from that position Feb. 29.

?Sharing a clerk of court is not that unusual,? she said. ?Appanoose and Davis counties share a clerk, as does Powesheik and Keokuk counties.

?When I worked as a trial court supervisor for Jefferson County, I also worked in Henry and Des Moines counties.?

Droz began working for the state judicial system in 1989. She was appointed Jefferson County Clerk of Court in January 2008.

Commuting between the two counties will be ongoing, she said.

?I?ve been trying to spend Wednesday and Thursday at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

?Yes, it makes for extra work,? she said. ?There?s a lot to do, but we haven?t cut hours or our availability to the public.

?In Jefferson County, I have two full-time employees in my office, plus a 14-hour-a-week employee who is shared with Henry County.

?I?m in the process of hiring an additional judicial clerk in Van Buren. We have only one employee in the office right now.?

Filing for the job closed last week. Droz has 26 applications and will winnow that down to a handful for a face-to-face interview.

?I hope we can get someone hired and started in the Van Buren office by mid-April,? she said. ?Once we get another employee in the office, it will be more comfortable.?

Hiring another judicial clerk will help with the work load, but Droz will continue to split her time as clerk of court between the two counties. With tighter budgets and a slower economy, she figures she?ll be a shared clerk of court, ?Until I retire,? she laughed.