Security, staffing in clerk’s office highlight year’s first Community Conversation

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Eschewing the podium and opting to sit with a small audience, Putnam County Clerk Heather Gilbert was relaxed and honest Monday evening as she talked about the demands her courthouse office faces on a regular basis.

As the first Community Conversation speaker of 2019, Gilbert was invited to the Putnam County Public Library by the League of Women Voters and the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce to share her perspectives on the organization of elections and the everyday filings that come through the clerk’s office.

Keeping her comments informal, Putnam County Clerk Heather Gilbert addresses the audience at the first Community Conversation of 2019 on Tuesday at the Putnam County Public Library.
Banner Graphic/Brand Selvia

However, she began by talking about an important aspect of the office on the second floor of the Putnam County Courthouse many might not immediately see.

“The clerk’s office is a fascinating place,” Gilbert began. “We don’t just handle the elections and filings. We also hold a lot of the history of Putnam County people might not know about or know exists.”

The clerk’s office holds a variety of new and old documents, such as wills, death notices and even mental health records that have been made public. But once in a while, they might get an interesting surprise.

Nate Wilson, who has volunteered his time in the office to categorizing documents, commented that he and Gilbert recently uncovered the original county charter, which dates back to 1821.

Finding and preserving these documents are a part of the process of record retention, where the office can also determine how to dispose of outdated or obsolete records.

Gilbert related that the clerk’s office can destroy documents such as old meeting minutes, so long as she gets permission from a records commission, which she oversees. However, this is, for the most part, easier said than done.

“Because they all have such busy schedules, I can’t get them all together in one place,” Gilbert said. “I’ve just sent them packets asking them to approve them or not, and ask whether they have comments.”

When an audience member asked how the commission could even possibly look in-depth into these records, Gilbert only suggested that such conflicts were inevitable and part of the process.

Gilbert, who recently began her second term, also provided input into what normally makes her job challenging. While she acknowledged that the judges and other court officials are often the object of a visitor’s ire, the clerk’s office sees its share of drama as well.

“We often get all of the belligerent people,” Gilbert said rather matter-of-factually. “Whether it’s someone who is upset with a ruling or has to pay restitution, it runs the gamut the people we encounter.”

However, this is not totally the norm. There are the “fun, happy things,” such as a newly registered voter casting his ballot in his first election or a couple getting their marriage license, which can make the second floor an interesting place.

Gilbert turned the attention to the task of ensuring the security of elections. More specifically, she emphasized that database software which catalogs voters’ ballots, as well as the actual voting machines, are not connected to the internet or any outside source.

“It is very difficult to hack into this,” Gilbert said. “We keep them close to us, and we have one Democrat and one Republican bring us their separate votes.” She added that the iPads election volunteers use to enter voting information, while hooked up to a cloud, are not linked to this database.

But it is not as if Gilbert isn’t prepared for an online attack, in addition to the more predictable issues that the office might face.

Indiana’s Secretary of State will send clerks mock cyberthreats through e-mail, during which Gilbert must check the office’s internal safeguards. She related that the Putnam County office is one of the few that consistently pass these tests.

Gilbert further added that the county’s voting machines were upgraded last year, and that their internal components are changed when needed. An entire machine can still be replaced on election day if it has a persistent issue.

Gilbert then commented on issues that have complicated her record keeping duties. This essentially came down to the clerk’s office not having enough staff, as well as the adoption of the Odyssey case management system and a third court, both of which only add to the work.

“We don’t have enough people, and there’s no way to add another court without adding a lot more work,” she said. Gilbert related that continuing drug issues in Putnam County have packed the courts with repeat offenders as it is. As such, the clerk’s office is constantly trying to keep up.

“The courts should be one thing, and the elections should be another,” Gilbert opined. “It’s difficult to keep the clerk side without the staff,” acknowledging that her chief deputy clerk has undertaken most of the work while she keeps tabs on the elections.

Gilbert’s personal safety and that of her staff also comes into play, and does so in a concerning way. The courts and the clerk’s office have been threatened enough that Gilbert said she recently began carrying a gun, following a recommendation from court staff.

“Physical security has really become a big issue for all of us,” Gilbert said. She recounted how one persistent individual has tried to intimidate her on multiple occasions, even as courthouse security have been prompted to not allow him entry.

Gilbert provided that there may be four law enforcement officers in the courthouse at one time. However, two are budgeted by judges Matt Headley and Denny Bridges to monitor their offices. That means two officers cover the rest of the building, which lacks security checks such as metal detectors.

“I think money is the reason for the reluctance to getting more security,” Gilbert suggested. This adds to frustration with a request she has made several times to expand the office, especially as an annex is still being considered by county officials.

Despite the differences that may come from these discussions, Gilbert made it clear to the audience in the Kiwanis Room that the work done in the clerk’s office is far from uneventful.

“There is a diverse amount of things always going on in the clerk’s office,” she said.

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    I hope that she does a better job of election security and integrity than her predecessor did. The prior Clerk let vote fraud go unpunished.

    As for protection - safety for thee, but not for me? When will the Clerk (or anyone in this county government) stand up for the rights of ALL individuals to carry in the courthouse?

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Wed, Feb 27, 2019, at 11:14 AM
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