The Honorable Laura Hughes, Kaufman County Clerk

The Kaufman County Clerk's office has records that date back to around 1860. Many of these include land records, marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, commissioner court records, assumed names, and subdivision plats. Though many do not fully understand the extent of duties assigned by the State Legislature to the Clerk, the story "From Cradle to Grave" eloquently demonstrate how 'Nearly everyone has some occasion to come to the County Clerk's office for some of the services provided.' The story shows that some of the most important things that happen in a person's life are recorded in the Clerk's office. Our responsibilities, as the Record Keeper for the County, are vital and I, as one of the 254 Texas County Clerks, take great pride in our place in county government!

My priorities, since taking office in 2000, have been to use teamwork, technology and planning to improve service, increase accessibility, and to prioritize preservation efforts. These goals have set the tone for the office - my staff and I continually look for ways to make things more convenient and accessible, while keeping in mind that preservation and expediency go hand in hand. I firmly believe that the Clerk is the trusted guardian of all instruments of public record and as such should do all that is possible to keep such records safe, maintain their integrity, and to facilitate public access to the files.

Some of our successes include:

• Incorporate computers to automate the cashiering and receipting of all recorded documents.
• Training of Staff on computers and software packages - so they can further automate their jobs.
• Extensive use of cross training, so each person has knowledge of the entire office operation.
• Use of business process mapping to eliminate redundancy and streamline the workflows.
• Achieved the Texas Department of Health's 2002 Five Star Local Registrar Award.
• ntroduced digital images of the Official Public Records and added additional search terminals.
• Placed the Official Public Records search capabilities and images on the internet.
• Installed Marriage License software on our system, so we could do away with typing them.
• Acquired a large scale plotter to enhance the accessibility of existing subdivision plats.
• Implemented a current time imaging program for vital statistics and court documents.
• Aggressively archiving and preserving old land records and vital statistics records.
• Working with vendor to place vital statistic search capabilities on the internet.
• Working with vendor to copy and laminate all plats, so originals can maintain their integrity.
• Pursing image creation of the Official Public Records back to 1968 and will place them on the net.
• Taking part in a Court appointed committee to research and review judicial software packages.
• Was one of the 1st in the Courthouse to accept Credit Cards, even placed that option on the internet.