FORT MYERS, FLA. – Lee County Clerk Kevin Karnes was awarded 12 certificates of excellence by the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers association for his office’s commitment to enhancing services in courts, records management, and official records.
The office was presented with awards in all categories offered at the state association’s second annual Best Practices Excellence Program. The awards program evaluated and recognized Clerks in the following areas: eviction; evidence storage and destruction; public records requests; requests to redact exempt personal information; exploitation of vulnerable adult injunction; bail bonds; compliance services; confidential judicial records; guardianship audits; marriage license; recording fundamentals; and service of documents by Clerks for self-represented litigants.
“I couldn’t have done this without the support of my team, who work diligently every day to make our office a premier model of exceptional government,” Karnes said.
The Best Practices Excellence Program is a means to showcase the Clerk’s commitment to continuous improvement and greater consistency across standard processes. Florida’s Clerks and Comptrollers have collaborated on best practices for more than 14 years.
The awards program was established last year as an opportunity for Clerks to receive recognition for completing assessments that evaluate specific services. In total, participating offices throughout the state collectively completed 551 assessments to achieve their best practice certificates. Thirty of Florida’s 68 Clerks and Comptrollers received all 12 awards.
To learn more about the Lee Clerk’s office, visit leeclerk.org.
ABOUT THE CLERK’S OFFICE:
The Florida Constitution established the Clerk of the Circuit Court as a public trustee, responsible for safeguarding public records and public funds. Clerk Kevin Karnes was appointed by Gov. DeSantis and is directly accountable to Lee County residents. In addition to the role of Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Clerk is the County Recorder and Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, and the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Auditor for Lee County.
