(Note:  If you are facing foreclosure on your home, you can access the Federal Reserve Board’s website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/foreclosure/default.htm for information on where to seek help on topics such as how to prevent foreclosure and a list of agencies approved for consumer credit counseling.)

The Clerk’s Office is unique in that it reflects so many important episodes in our lives – from birth to death, and major events in-between.  Our departments capture in a literal sense people’s births, deaths, marriages, divorces, altercations with the law, and so much more.

Even though I have been here for almost four years, I am still struck by how much we mirror what is happening, in Hillsborough County, of course, but also the times in which we live.  A powerful example is our Circuit Civil Department, which handles mortgage foreclosures as well as sales, where members of the public have the option to buy homes foreclosed by the bank.  So often auctions of specific homes are stopped at the last minute because the homeowners filed bankruptcy to delay the inevitable.

Circuit Civil’s business in foreclosures has gone up 135 percent since 2006, from 4,099 to 9,644 for 2007.  Thus far, from January through March of 2008, if the current trend continues, these numbers will be even higher.  As staggering as these figures are, it’s the human faces behind them that tell the real sad story of our times.  Families had hopes and dreams of a better life – a new or a fresh start - and these aspirations have been shattered by the economic realities so many people now endure.  Business analysts can argue whether or not we are in a bona fide “recession” – but that doesn’t matter if you find yourself struggling to pay the bills, as the price for groceries and gas continues to rise.

As Circuit Civil experiences a boost in business, conversely our Official Records Department reflects the opposite.  Fewer people are purchasing homes, thus we are recording fewer deeds.   In 2006, for instance, we recorded 124,883 mortgages and 63,357 deeds.  In 2007, the numbers dropped to 89,360 mortgages and 47,523 deeds (Note:  commercial and residential are included in these totals).  There was even a slight drop in marriage licenses – from 10,229 in 2006 to 9,885 in 2007.

While these numbers tell a story, they do not show the faces behind the numbers, the people who are hurting in our community.  I hear about some very sad situations, but I know that is just a small fraction.  So many others are going through rough times.  I only hope that there is an upturn in the economy much sooner than expected.  Too many people’s lives are dependent on - as they say in the news business - “Good news tomorrow.”

     I love this time of year.  For the most part, people seem to be happier.  They are looking forward to spending time with family and friends. Decorations brighten homes inside and out, and spirits, too, are infused with the expectations of the holiday season.

    Having said that, this is also the time of year when people tend to get more absorbed in their activities and their hectic schedules – and let their guard down.  That’s why it presents a prime opportunity for theft scams.

     In the interest of prevention, I thought I’d share with you some security tips I gathered from a number of sources, including Bill McCollum, Florida’s Attorney General, as well as pointers from a recent article in the St. Petersburg Times.

   Remember, if you are victimized by any of these thefts or scams, immediately call the police, then ask the national credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit report.  Keep records. Also, report it to the Attorney General’s Fraud Hotline at 1-866-9-NO –SCAM (1-866-966-7226). 

     However, you can and should be able to protect yourself.  By following these tips and using good old-fashioned common sense, you will enjoy a scam-free and happy holiday:

• Don’t take out credit cards before approaching the register.  This way, fewer people will have a chance to see the information on your card.  Also, keep payment card numbers and toll-free numbers someplace other than a purse or wallet so that you can report a loss immediately.
• Beware of people who have cell phones in their hands but are not making calls.  Often, identity thieves use cell phones to take photos or videos of credit card or personal information for later use.
• Carry only the credit or debt cards you need for making holiday purchases.  That way, if a wallet or purse is stolen, fewer accounts will be affected.
• If you make a purchase online, only do so through secure websites from legitimate and trusted companies.
• If someone claims to be a representative of a bank, lending institution or business and asks you for personal account information over the internet, do not provide that information online...
• Keep billing information private and avoid sharing it via cell phone, especially in location where a stranger could overhear you and write it down.
• Be alert in parking lots.  Remember to lock valuables in the trunk. Remove everything from your purse except what’s needed for your shopping trip.
• Don’t fall for “phishing” – cyber-perpetrated identity theft.  This is when scammers e-mail convincing copies of brand name web sites, then “phish” for suckers to volunteer payment card numbers and personal information.  Some even pretend their purpose is preventing identity fraud or “phishing.”

     If you have any pointers you would like to share, you can post them by clicking on the title of this blog and scrolling to the bottom of this page.

     And before I sign off, let me take this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday season and a happy and safe New Year!

Although I try not to make it a practice, sometimes you have to toot your own horn! In this case, I just couldn’t resist. Here’s the scoop: I found out recently that the Clerk’s Office’s newly redesigned website has been selected to receive one of the JUSTICE SERVED Top Ten Court Website Awards for 2007.

True confession, I didn’t know what JUSTICE SERVED was before receiving this notification, or even what this award meant. Upon doing a little research, I must say that I am impressed.

JUSTICE SERVED is a court management and information technology consulting firm offering a wide variety of services to courts, justice agencies and related organizations. This is the eighth year that the company has selected the Top 10 Court Website Awards for best-of-class in court Internet service delivery.

Here is the staggering news – nearly 4,000 websites were reviewed and narrowed to the Top Ten! That’s right; our Clerk’s Office is listed alongside courts throughout the world, from Australia to Singapore, as well as a few courts in the United States!

The funny thing is that we actually entered this contest by accident. One of my staffers assigned to this project was looking for potential contests to enter because we were proud of what we had accomplished. She did some research and found out about JUSTICE SERVED, so she made an inquiry. That was enough for us to be considered, according to Chris Crawford, the president of this organization.

In notifying us of our selection, Chris Crawford wrote: “This is an excellent interactive site serving the Tampa area that excels in several ways. It is well organized, ADA-compliant, features text sizing, and offers live online chat and a blog. The 'how do I find' pull down menus are a great way to easily locate online records search, pay traffic citations and even pay (and track) child support.”

I don’t know if you recall, but we were very careful to get input from the public when we took on the massive project of redesigning our website. I wanted to make sure that we were meeting the needs of the customers we serve. We posted a survey on our old website and asked for feedback, and, astoundingly enough, got over 2,000 responses! These were very helpful, and we took many suggestions into serious consideration to make this site as user friendly as possible. I want to thank each of you who took the time to respond to this survey.

I want to give a special thanks to our friends at Tampa Digital Studios, who worked with us in redesigning the site. They exercised their well-deserved bragging rights and put out a special press release. They certainly were wonderful partners, and we join with them in celebrating this great honor.

Don’t worry – we won’t rest on our laurels! At the Clerk’s Office, there is always something happening, and we need to respond quickly and efficiently. Complacency is a luxury we can never afford – nor do we intend to start now.

You don’t have to be a news junkie to know about the Florida Legislature’s recent actions on property taxes. What happens in Tallahassee does affect us in Hillsborough County in so many instances, and this situation is no exception.

Although I am elected as an independent Constitutional officer, as Clerk/Comptroller of the Circuit Court, I am not a "free agent" in the true sense of the word. I have mandates that I am required to follow by law which are set by Hillsborough County, the State of Florida and the 13th Judicial District. This means that I am now faced with the difficult task of cutting the portion of my budget which the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners funds with property taxes.

After scrutinizing the numbers and reviewing the options, I made a decision that I believe was a fair one: I announced that I would not put any Clerk employees out of work to meet the required cuts in the Clerk’s budget. I have no intention of eliminating anyone’s position in this office next year.

I felt that that was an important step for me to take on two fronts: 1) I did not want to eliminate any jobs in this uncertain economic climate; and 2) if we cut jobs, the high level of service this office delivers to the public would be diminished. It is very important for me to fulfill my sworn duty to the citizens of Hillsborough County to meet the performance standards of excellent customer service.

The fact that no one would lose their job was the good news. In order to do this, however, there was only one way I could balance the budget: I put in no money for any performance or cost of living increases, which means that no one in the Clerk’s Office gets a raise this year. This was the painful part of my decision.

Even though my own salary is set by the State of Florida, with automatic raises based on population increases in Hillsborough County, I felt strongly that I had to live by the same belt-tightening. I let my employees know that I will not accept any raise myself. If I am due a raise, which I will not find out until September, I intend to give the money back to the Clerk’s Office, to be used to fund additional advanced education for Clerk’s employees.

I really do believe that we are all in this together – I stand by my employees and alongside them. Although some public officials have taken a different tack, I cannot in good conscience do anything else. I could not accept a salary hike and ask my employees to forego any raises. That would not be consistent.

I have shared my thoughts with you on one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as a public official. I am interested in your feedback on this subject. Let me hear from you. 

We began accepting passport applications at the Clerk’s Office on May 14, and the good news is that things are running smoothly. That doesn’t always happen when you begin a new program. Fortunately, I have heard only positive accounts.

One of the fascinating things for me about this office is that there are golden "opportunities" to grow and expand the services we offer. Passport applications are a case in point. When I learned several months ago that the Clerk’s Office was eligible to administer passports, I thought it was an excellent way for us to provide customer service to meet a critical need. Thus, our office made formal application to the U.S. State Department for certification.

As anyone who has applied for a passport recently knows we couldn’t have picked a better time. Like everyone else, I read and saw news accounts of long lines and waits of several hours to sign up for passports at the U.S. Post Office. This need rapidly accelerated due to the recent additional requirements for passports to cross borders in Canada, Mexico and the Carribean.

We did not roll out a big media campaign to launch passport applications. We wanted the service to be so efficient and quick that the good news of our office processing the applications would pass by word of mouth – from friend to friend. We made certain that the three offices where passport applications are taken were in a position to handle the requests. We set up a system for appointments only, with walk-ins when time permits. Although we recommend appointments, people always have the option to call one of the offices on the spur of the moment to see if it is a good time to come in.

Not surprisingly, it has been quite the learning experience for our office. For instance, people show up with pictures they have taken themselves, which don’t meet the specifications so they cannot be accepted. We take photos in two of our offices – downtown at Official Records and in SouthShore – but we don’t have the space to take pictures in Brandon, our third location.

We are learning the "art" of photographing infants, who have to have their eyes open for their pictures, like everyone else. The mother cannot hold the child, so we will most likely have to invest in a car seat to facilitate that process!

Thus far, we have gotten positive feedback from the people who have applied for their passports in one of our offices. We are setting appointments on a regular basis, but there are openings, so I hope people think of our office when they need a passport. It really does make the process a lot less painless.

Welcome to my blog, FRANK TALK.

The purpose of this blog is for me to communicate to you directly on issues affecting you.

In the very near future, this will be a two-way exchange.  You will have the opportunity to tell me what you think by posting comments, which I will read.

My blog is a new venture for me, and I am excited about it.  I want you to know that I am interested in what you think and any ideas you have for topics of discussion.

I look forward to blogging together!