Contributions as Probate Judge of Elmore County
REPORT ON THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROBATE OFFICE OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS (2013-2018)
[Report by Elmore County Probate Judge John E. Enslen.]
The term “probate office” in this report includes all four departments of the probate office: probate court, tag department, licensing department, and elections office.
The credit for any improvements in the probate office over the past six years belongs primarily to the dedicated employees of the probate office. They are the ones who performed the day to day labors that were required to accomplish the improvements. I am deeply grateful to all of the faithful probate office employees with whom I have had the privilege to be associated over the past six years. I have been inspired by their devotion to duty. These conscientious employees are one of Elmore County’s most important assets. I do not believe that I will forget a single one of them.
Also, I stand on the shoulders of my predecessors who made their own set of improvements during their respective tenures. They each did the best they could under the circumstances in which they found themselves. Their efforts paved the way for my efforts. We all drink from wells that we did not dig. I am totally confident that my successors will make many changes that improve on the system that was instituted during my tenure.
Also, the role of the county commission, which sometimes thwarts and sometimes facilitates improvements, cannot be overstated. Ultimately, the people of Elmore County are collectively responsible for insuring that we have a county commission and county elected officials who are efficiently watching over our local governmental affairs in a fair and honest manner. As a practical matter, the voters get what they deserve, not only through the manner in which they cast their votes, but perhaps more so by the measure of their efforts to encourage good people to run for public office. Frankly speaking, the first four years were difficult. I am pleased that I leave office with a much better situation than when I originally took office. I am enjoying my relationship with our current administrator and county commission who are to be commended for their work.
The story of my time as probate judge can only be told through the stories of others who helped me along the way. Employees, family members, other elected leaders, civic leaders, voters, vendors, professional mentors, and my adversaries have all provided me with the tools and motivation to upgrade. I like the following quote from pro quarterback and former Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson: “[T]he story of how I became the man that I am today can only be told through the stories of the people who helped me along the way [b]ecause I definitely did not do it alone.”
Here are what I believe to have been some of the positive changes that were made over the past six years. I have enjoyed the ride, and I hope that it was not too rough a ride for you, whatever your role may have been.
1. We instituted the use of a receipt book and accountability for copy cost sales. We took steps to protect the printer password to prevent abstractors and others from making copies for which they did not pay. (The office had lost tens of thousands of dollars over time. Unfortunately, one likeable employee lost her job over this dishonest practice.)
2. We ceased handling and closed out over 300 petty cash fund accounts for filers of public documents who had overpaid recording fees. We donated more than $3,500 of these accumulated funds pro-rata to the high schools in the county.
3. We provided in-house training for employees in the tag department and assisted with the educational certification of key staff personnel.
4. We terminated an expensive outsource contract for the conduct of elections, created and filled the position of Elections Specialist, and brought the handling of elections back to the probate office. We set up an elections office in the probate office as part of the probate office operations and established a separate county budget for elections. We moved all voting machines and equipment to a new storage facility off site.
5. We moved all probate court hearings to the courtroom after setting up the courtroom for such hearings.
6. We appointed the first ever general administrator of estates and general conservator for conservatorships involving un-administered estates and conservatorships.
7. We instituted the modern practice of the e-filing of deeds and mortgages into our recording system.
8. We moved the election night headquarters to the Wetumpka Civic Center and created an elections website, becoming the first county in the state to provide real time election results to the public on election night.
9. We followed the dictates of the law in the commitment and confinement of mentally impaired persons, ceasing the practice of issuing “emergency” commitment orders. We had the chief clerk, a licensed attorney, appointed as a special probate judge to expeditiously hear commitment cases.
10. We passed a local act that converted earmarked probate office funds that were being misused by the county commission into a general discretionary account for the probate office. Through litigation against the county commission, we (1) funded the account in part with past collections and (2) instituted a system where the funds are managed directly by the probate office.
11. We established the position of County Archivist who is paid entirely from a probate office discretionary fund. We scanned and digitized the old and deteriorating paper public records, including newspapers and county commission minutes, and then placed all of our public records on the Internet for public viewing and purchase as an option to in-house viewing and purchase. This was done in such a way that there is no cost to the taxpayers for the placement of our public records on the Internet.
12. We installed new computers, other electronic equipment, and furniture in all departments. We removed from the probate office accumulated old equipment and documents that are not required to be stored.
13. We terminated the misuse of a probate office discretionary account for the payment of services provided to another elected office and for the payment of ordinary software maintenance which is a properly budgeted item from the general fund.
14. We acquired for the probate office a new set of the Code of Alabama with continuing updates.
15. We removed the 3% surcharge on the purchase of driver’s licenses with a credit card
16. We ceased the illegal practice of waiving late fees and penalties for the purchase of tags and licenses.
17. We upgraded and modernized our voting procedure by implementing the use of electronic poll pads that were purchased by probate office discretionary funds without invading the county general fund. We were the first county in the state to use electronic poll pads in all precincts.
18. We acquired new facilities for a Millbrook satellite probate office.
19. We moved the polling place in Tallassee from the Armory to Tallakeeka Baptist Church and added a new voting precinct in Millbrook.
20. We moved the probate court and licensing operations into new office spaces and rearranged and improved spaces for the elections office, the board of registrars, and the document recording staff. The county commission is due our appreciation for the major work in accomplishing these moves, wisely using the taxpayers’ money to increase the size and functionality of our courthouse facility.
21. We implemented the use of professional couriers for the deposit of monies and terminated a dishonest employee used as a courier. We refused to reinstate the dishonest employee when ordered to do so by the former county commission. We collected on the insurance covering the dishonest employee’s acts when illegally ordered not to do so by the county commission. (Amazingly, the dismissed employee was given another county job at a higher pay rate. She has since left the employment of the county.)
22. We reduced the number of employees, doing away with a part-time position and a full-time position.
23. We used scores of law school interns who provided free labor to the probate court functions.
24. We purchased a new software management system for the probate court, which includes e-filing of court documents. I am hopeful that this system will be properly implemented by the new probate judge, my successor, thus making Elmore County one of only four counties in the state with this capability.
25. We moved the sale of driver’s licenses from the crowded probate office to an independent location. (This could be brought back to the courthouse since we now have the additional wing in place.)
26. We obtained several attorney general opinions which cleared up ambiguities in the local laws relating to the operations of the probate office and the relationship between the probate office and the county commission.
27. We handled major litigation issues related to elections in-house without the hiring of expensive outside legal counsel or using the county attorney.
28. We reversed two audit findings issued by state auditors by appealing to the reasonableness of an Elmore County Grand Jury.
29. We obtained raises for all probate office employees in every department and brought their salaries more in line with salaries paid in other departments of the county.
30. We educated citizens on the need for an experienced attorney to preside over the legal proceedings of the probate court.
31. We converted the position of Chief Clerk from two clerical employees sharing the position to a licensed attorney with overall management skills.
32. We are in the process of adopting a system which will allow patrons the option to electronically file directly with the Secretary of State all documents relating to the creation and dissolution of business organizations.
MY TWO BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS:
1. The 5-4 same-sex marriage decision issuing from the United States Supreme Court after leading the fight to oppose same sex marriage in Alabama, being the one and only probate judge in the state who gave the plaintiffs standing in the Alabama Supreme Court case that temporarily invalidated same-sex marriage in Alabama until the United States Supreme Court’s ruling about three months later. The Alabama Supreme Court case to which I make reference is Ex parte State ex rel. Alabama Policy Institute, Alabama Citizens Action Program, and John E. Enslen, in his official capacity as Judge of Probate for Elmore County, 200 So. 3d 495 (2015).
We do not currently sell marriage licenses in Elmore County, a non-revenue producing activity, which is optional with each probate judge. The new probate judge will have to decide how he wants to handle this situation. I personally ceased performing about 300 marriages per year as a result of the United States Supreme Court ruling.
2. Our local legislative delegation’s refusal to pass a local law that would have called for a local referendum for the people in Elmore County to vote for or against the proposition that the probate judge should be a licensed attorney in good standing with the Alabama Bar Association. The local legislative delegation, particularly Senator Clyde Chambliss, required a unanimous vote of the county commission in order to introduce the legislation allowing the people of Elmore County to decide the issue. I like Senator Chambliss and feel he is doing a good job for us overall. However, he was wrong in not allowing the people to express their opinion on this important matter.
The county commission voted 3-2 in favor of allowing the people to vote. It is patently unfair for our legislative delegation to place such a high burden—total unanimity—on the introduction of legislation that simply allows the people to decide an important issue. For one thing, making the county commission the gatekeeper for this issue is obviously unfair because there will always be one or more non-attorney members of the county commission who aspire to be the next probate judge. The hypocrisy of the situation is highlighted by our local delegation’s passage of a local act to the effect that no person can run for the office of Sheriff in Elmore County unless he or she has a degree in criminal justice—and the local legislative delegation did not request or require a vote of the people in order to pass that local act.
CONCLUSION
I express my sincere appreciation to the good people of Elmore County for allowing me the privilege of serving them as their probate judge over the past six years. I offer my best wishes to my successor and know that he will continue with high quality service to the citizens of Elmore County.
John E. Enslen