Lake County clerk's office to close 30 minutes earlier on Fridays
The Lake County clerk's office will close 30 minutes earlier Friday evenings starting Jan. 2 to save money, officials said.
Lake County Clerk Carla N. Wyckoff said the decision to close at 7 p.m. on Fridays will reduce overtime costs for Lake County sheriff's deputies stationed at the clerk's office during evening hours. The office will remain open until 7:30 p.m. through the remainder of 2014.
"I campaigned on customer service, but I also campaigned on being fiscally responsible," Wyckoff said. "The difference is that we have to pay overtime to a deputy when they stay until 7:30, but not if they only stay until 7 p.m."
She said she did not know the amount of savings from the change.
Wyckoff said the office sees few customers between 7 and 7:30 p.m. Fridays during the winter. The hours will be reviewed and possibly changed back when the weather turns warmer, she said.
"It just seems like that last 30 minutes isn't necessary," Wyckoff said. "It seems like the perfect way to save a little money."
Office hours will remain 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, except for legal holidays, she said.
On Friday evenings, visitors to the office must use the building's north security entrance. Pedestrian access is available from County Street or Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Services include marriage and civil union license applications, birth, marriage, civil union, and death record requests, notarizations and business name registrations.
For anyone seeking copies of vital records who is unable to visit the clerk's office, online request forms can be found at LakeCountyClerk.info under the vital records tab.