‘Skeleton crew’ keeping county offices running
With Lake government center shut, business still has to get done during the COVID-19 pandemic
Sherry Serences, floor supervisor with the Lake County recorder’s office, put on a plastic smock, gloves and a face mask to head outside the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point.
It was Wednesday, which, during the COVID-19 pandemic, has become the day the recorder’s office accepts title paperwork. Documents that transfer property from one entity to another: from spouse to spouse, parents to children or homeowner to homeowner, said Lake County Chief Deputy Recorder Gina Pimentel said.
Not only has the virus impacted when the deliveries are made, it has also required the three offices that handle the documents — the county recorder, assessor and auditor — to create a new workflow to approve the documents.
When a deed is received, the recorder’s office staff processes the document and then sends it to the assessor’s office for sales disclosure review. Then, the deed goes to the auditor’s office, where staff will accept or reject the documents and accept fees, Pimentel said.
The process is complete with the recorder’s office staff stamping the documents and storing them, Pimentel said.
“That’s why it’s important for all three of our offices to work together because if even one of the offices is missing then the process won’t work,” Pimentel said.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners declared a state of emergency for the county on March 18, and county government buildings were closed to the public shortly after, according to the order.
When the initial order was signed, the commissioners asked department supervisors to determine which employees were essential and non-essential to get work done, according to the order.
All three office supervisors said that after the initial order was signed, work slowed down as they tried to work out a schedule for their staff.
“It slowed (work) down because the (employees) in all the offices aren’t there five days a week. We worked it out so that everyone has enough time to do what they need to do to get done,” said Lake County Auditor John Petalas.
Lake County Assessor LaTonya Spearman said that when the government center was initially shut down it “was tough” to establish a coordinated schedule for all three offices.
“Everyone was trying to make the best decision for their team and the public,” Spearman said.
Typically, a resident can come into the Lake County Government Center and could have the deeds approved the same day because all three offices are located near each other, Pimentel said. If a deed is received through the mail, it takes about five days to
be processed and sent back out, she said.
The recorder’s office, which receives the deeds, is “playing catch up” from the time the building was closed to the public because it wasn’t clear which departments were considered essential under the commissioner’s original order, Pimentel said.
After the initial closure, Pimentel said the recorder’s office supervisors took it “week by week” in establishing employee’s schedules.
It took a few days for the recorder’s office to get the mail, so staff is processing those documents while handling the documents that are still being sent in, Pimentel said. The “minimal delay” in processing documents though, Pimentel said, raised concerns.
“There has been a lot of complaints, so really it’s kind of the main reason why we’re trying to get an essential worker skeleton crew to appease the taxpayers of Lake County but also … stop the spread, end this pandemic and keep everyone healthy,” Pimentel said.
But, Pimentel said that the commissioner’s order should’ve been more specific to list which office is essential instead of closing the building to the public and stating supervisors should pick essential and non-essential employees.
“They’re kind of putting us between a rock and a hard place,” Pimentel said. “Our employees are nervous and scared and not wanting to put their life and their families in danger.”
The Lake County Board of Commissioners have since updated the declaration of emergency twice, both updates stating that “each office of an elected official needed to ensure the continuing operation.” The recorder, auditor and assessor are all elected positions.
Lake County Recorder Michael Brown said there was a “brief interruption” after the first order was issued. Additionally, Brown said his office has been pushing for e-recording options during the pandemic to allow people to file documents online.
The recorder’s office has a “skeleton crew” in the office Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Brown said. On Thursday and Friday, Brown said he drops off mail to his staff’s house to be processed.
The assessor’s office staff, less than 10 people, is in the office Monday and Thursday, Spearman said, with staff members are working from home as much as possible.
Spearman said that she choose to have some staff in the office Thursday so that when the recorder’s office staff receives mail Wednesday the assessor’s office staff can process any documents received the next day.
In the auditor’s office, Petalas said he has some staff members inside the office everyday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. because, in addition to deeds, the auditor’s office handles payroll and has to pay county vendors.
“As long as the staff are in the office, there’s no slow down, just a bit of a catch up because the buildings were closed for a bit before a system was put in place,” Petalas said. “I suspect the onslaught (of work) will come when the buildings open.”