To the Citizens of Sarasota County... I am pleased to present to you the Annual Report of the Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. By authority of the Constitution of the State of Florida, and the laws enacted by the state legislature, this office is responsible for providing a myriad of services. A continued focus this year has been on public safety through fraud prevention in the areas of management of the county treasury and accounts, documenting ownership of land, entitlement to financial distributions, and supporting the Judges in both the Circuit and County courts. Court documents are governed by the Rules of Court and redaction of personal information from court documents is performed by this office. In 2023, this office reviewed 1,556,420 document pages for redaction of personal information to ensure confidentiality requirements are met. The resident population of Sarasota County is approximately 464,223, an increase of 2.6 percent from last year. It includes Unincorporated Sarasota County (pop. 288,097) and four municipalities: the cities of Sarasota (pop. 57,005), Venice (pop. 27,793), North Port (pop. 86,552) and the Town of Longboat Key (pop. 4,776). The jurisdiction for the circuit and county court matters includes not only the unincorporated county but all the municipalities. As the County grows so do the complexities of maintaining the Court’s records, the transfers of property ownership, and management of a $1.5 billion investment portfolio. Our investment portfolio is rated by Fitch Ratings, one of the big three credit rating agencies, and is tiered with layers of safeguards along with a formal investment policy and required diversification. At the top of our priority list these days is fraud awareness and how to protect this office from fraudsters that seek out large organizations such as the Clerk and Comptroller to perpetrate complex fraud schemes. Our team works diligently to keep one step ahead of them by detection and eradication of fraud attempts. Our Office of the Inspector General focuses on compliance issues and fraud waste and abuse within the county. It is also a part of a statewide alliance that investigates guardianship fraud. Some of our fraud prevention efforts include an application for property transfers that notify residents, who sign up to use the application, should a bad actor try to fraudulently transfer real property; enhanced banking arrangements to prevent the cashing of forged checks; Clerk and Comptroller alerts on our website of jury scams, and working closely with the Sheriff with regards to suspicious activity. As a steward of public service, I am deeply committed to doing our part in supporting the citizens of Sarasota County and the state of Florida. Last year, we partnered with the Florida Attorney General, Ashley B. Mooney, to raise awareness and reduce human trafficking in our region. By joining leading organizations, businesses, and government agencies in the 100 Percent Club, we are training all employees in the office to learn the vital signs of human trafficking and to act as needed to minimize this threat in our community. As we embark on a new fiscal year, our efforts will be focused on continuing to provide excellent service and enhanced and convenient access to information. Sincerely, Karen E. Rushing Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller 3 Karen E. Rushing Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller - Sarasota, FL |
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