County Clerk Heseman Gives Rundown On First Year In Office

By Alex Haglund

County Clerk Nancy Heseman gave her annual report, her first since taking office following last year’s election, to the county board at their January meeting on Tuesday, January 12,

“It’s been quite an eventful year,” Heseman opened. When she took office, her department was two people short (one of them was due to Heseman herself working in the Clerk’s Department immediately before being elected to the office, “so I had to hire two new people and move all in that time.”

Along with filling her staff and moving the department to the Community Center for the renovation of the courthouse, Heseman also stated that the county’s microfilm is degrading. To combat this, she has begun to have it restored and repaired by the Illinois Archive Department, which was a service that was provided free of cost to the county.

“One of the other things that we have been able to do is implement direct deposit for the payroll, Heseman said that this is optional, but added that most county employees wanted it (though not everyone).

Heseman stated that they have begun to repair county books as well. She brought two county road books to the meeting, one old, the other repaired to show the marked difference between the two. County Highway Department Head Mitch Burdick, also present at the meeting stated that the improved condition of the road books particularly would be a boon to him and his department.

Come November, the clerk’s office will be using a new election reporting service. In the past they have used Platinum Election Resources, but Heseman said that the new service will be announced once she has entered into a contract.

New voter cards will be sent out soon. “It is a purge,” of the voter rolls, Heseman said, “and it is required by law.”

“Overall, I think that it’s been a good year,” Heseman said. “I have a good team of employees and I think that they have done very well. I think that we have acomplished a lot and held the office together pretty well, considering all that has gone on.”