District Clerk Chris Daniel Semi-Annual Report

A message from Chris

During the first half of 2011, our office began a number of initiatives to better serve the public while saving taxpayers money. Thank you for reading this report, which highlights our initiatives and gives a glimpse at our goals for consistent and continuous improvement for the future of the District Clerks Office. Happy employees perform their best work, which results in better customer service for the public. I explored new ways to boost employee morale to help make the office a positive working environment so that we efficiently assist our customers. We faced a 10 percent budget cut, but we found ways to save our office money without implementing pay cuts or mandatory furloughs.
District Clerk Chris Daniel swears into office at midnight on Jan. 1, 2011.

District Clerk Chris Daniel

We explored methods to reach out to the community, whether through our Special Events Committee or through our FREEfax demonstrations. My predecessors began many worthwhile projects, and I will continue moving forward by implementing improvements with our Web site, historic document preservation and e-courts. I hope you will gain a fresh perspective on what the District Clerks Office has already achieved and will continue to accomplish in the future.

Semi-Annual Report Contents

Internal Initiatives

To stay within our budget while making county government effective for all To increase employee morale To find better ways to serve our community

External Initiatives

Publicize electronic filing methods Advance electronic courts Increase overall office efficiency

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Photos

A look back on Chris Daniels days in office during the first half of 2011

Future Initiatives

The future of the District Clerks Office

Events

A list of internal and external District Clerks Office events

Internal Initiatives First half of 2011

Goal: To stay within our budget while making county government effective for all
Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Presented budget that met mandated 10% reduction and avoided furloughs Recycled old District Clerk letterhead and jury summonses to save money on paper Reactivated the Inventory Control Group to streamline and reduce the expense of consumables Developed and implemented a system for tracking fixed assets Eliminated Wednesday afternoon jury call, saving approximately $16,000 a year Saved other Harris County government agencies $180,000 this year with FREEfax Started family e-courts, which, when implemented, will save an estimated $1.2 million/year

Goal: To increase employee morale

Action: Action: Action:
Cecily Hurd and Meshanda Phillips stand in line to buy baked potatoes at the SECs St. Patricks Day event.

Brought back the Employee of the Month program Brought water coolers back to all departments of the DCO Hosted District Clerks Health Fair for employees Developed a program to acknowledge improved performance in employees with disciplinary issues

Action:

Goal: To find better ways to serve our community

Action: Action: Action: Action: Redesigned the SEC so that proceeds go to the charities selected by DCO employees Put the Historical Records Preservation Committee back on track Created a District Clerks Office Facebook page Developing a jury outreach program that will emphasize to schools the importance of jury service
Special Events Committee member Kelly Olivier Davis flips pancakes at the SEC pancake sale on March 11.

External Initiatives First half of 2011

Goal: Publicize electronic filing methods
Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Improved FREEfax capabilities to populate information from seizure and forfeitures and protective orders to instruments All Civil Courts now allow the use of FREEfax Offered FREEfax presentations to attorneys and legal professionals Sharing FREEfax information with other counties and government entities Researching methods to automate and interface E-Filing to TAMES Working with Tarrant County and JCIT to create criminal e-filing system

Goal: Advance electronic courts

Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Action: Began scanning documents in County Criminal Courts Exploring Electronic Docketing for County Criminal Courts Researching Electronic Service Documents Working with District Criminal Courts to develop docket entry screens for judges Launched Family e-Court project -- the first Family Court (310th) came online June 1 Assigned to the Criminal E-Filing Subcommittee from JCIT

Average daily FREEfax filings

Since the start of 2011, the number of FREEfax filings has more than tripled.

Goal: Increase overall office efficiency

Action: Action: Reconstituted the jury wheel to include all currently eligible Harris County citizens Began an evaluation of expunction procedures to add statistical reporting without evidence of the expunged records Addressing the issue of contesting Paupers Oaths Testified twice before the legislature on matters germane to the DCO Began sharing disaster recovery duties with DA to save county dollars Began exploring the possibility of a bail bondsmen notification that will reduce jail population on a daily basis Researching ways to improve revenue collection of fines and fees Implemented new methods for reducing delinquent collection accounts The House has passed a bill that we drafted that allows the District Clerks Office to discontinue mailing copies of divorce decrees for an estimated savings of $90,000 a year. We will work to ensure the passage of the bill in the Senate Working with Justice of Peace Offices to implement electronic service of documents with an estimated savings of $60,000 to Harris County

Action: Action: Action: Action:

Action: Action: Action:

Action:

Capt. Debra Schmidt, Judge John Clinton, Major Fred Brown, District Clerk Chris Daniel, Jim Leitner of the Harris County District Attorneys Office and Criminal Bureau Director Margaret Wolfe attend a court hearing during the emergency preparedness trial run on May 20.

District Clerk Chris Daniel and members of the SEC deliver a $500 check to the American Red Cross for the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami relief fund. Susy Smith, Chief Development Officer for American Red Cross Greater Houston Area Chapter, accepted the check on behalf of the organization. The District Clerk's Office Special Events Committee raised the money through baked potato sales on St. Patrick's Day.

Congratulating Mary Callier on being named Employee of the Month are, from left, Director Darlene Johnson, Distribution Supervisor Lura Barley, Mary, District Clerk Chris Daniel and Chief Deputy Kevin Mauzy. District Clerk Chris Daniel brought back employee recognition awards. Mary was the first Employee of the Month.

Special Events Committee member Mike Perez delivers chocolate roses to Racheal Lucio on Valentines Day.

Members of the Special Events Committee deliver coats collected in the January coat drive to Houston CAN Academy on Jan. 21.

Sheriff Adrian Garcia and District Clerk Chris Daniel lock up a copy of the list of names on the new jury wheel.

Jon Gegenheimer, Jefferson Parish Clerk of Court, visited the District Clerks Office on Jan. 6 to see the Historic Documents Room and learn about features on www.hcdistrictclerk.com.

Tracy Hopper and Jay Morgan answer questions at a FREEfax presentation.

Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel and members of the Special Events Committee present a check to Ryan Marsh, President of Layla Grace Children's Cancer Research Foundation.

District Clerk Chris Daniel, Chief Deputy Kevin Mauzy, DCO Bureau Directors and SEC officers gave an appreciation breakfast for call center employees on May 11. Call Center employees gathered afterward to thank directors and SEC members who assisted with the breakfast .

Irene Fabian assists a prospective juror at the new Jury Plaza on July 5.

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Future Initiatives
We look forward to promoting good government while continuously finding ways to save taxpayers money. Some of our future initiatives include:

Continue historic document preservation and seek further funding opportunities Establish jury outreach program -This will allow more diverse jury pools. A five percent increase in participation would save Harris County $100,000 in related costs Create a mobile web page that would allow attorneys and the public to more easily access information from www.hcdistrictclerk.com from a variety of technical devices Investigate technological upgrades to our case management system that will allow personnel the ability to better service and support the system Offer opportunities for continuing education Develop a cross-training program that will help the office run more efficiently -Employees who are trained in more than one department can easily take over for absent employees or step in when a position becomes available Develop a program to acknowledge improved performance in employees with disciplinary issues Develop electronic service of process and citations for the Harris County Constables and become paperless Continue to move forward with electronic courts by completing Family and moving on to Juvenile and Criminal

The historic document preservation process encapsulates documents in books for protection from air and moisture.

District Clerk Chris Daniel welcomes prospective jurors on Jan. 5.

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Community Events First half of 2011

Jan. 1 Chris meets with Jon A. Gegenheimer, Clerk of Court, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, who toured the DCO Jan. 1013 Chris and Chief Deputy Kevin Mauzy attend 39th Annual District and County Clerks Continuing Education Conference in College Station Jan. 14 Chris meets with attorney Bill Kroger of Baker Botts to provide information for Texas Supreme Court Task Force report and document the DCO historical court archives Chris attends MLK 15th Annual Oratory Competition, gives brief address Chris attends Annual C Club Elected Officials Reception Chris meets with County Treasurer to attempt resolution of credit card issues Chris speaks at the LULAC District Council 4967 Chorizo and Menudo Breakfast Chris meets with Christopher Prine and M. Karinne McCullough to establish procedures regarding retention and destruction of completed appeals files Chris attends the 2011 India Fair at New Stafford Center Chris attends Asian American Health Coalition Chris speaks at North Shore Rotary Chris attends Houston Community Reception Chris speaks at Rotary Club of Highlands 36th Annual Chili Cook-off
District Clerk Chris Daniel and representatives from the office participated in the Grand Entry for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 12. District Clerk Chris Daniel speaks to students at the Raul Yzaguirre School for Success at a memorial service as part of the Shattered Dreams Assembly. Shattered Dreams is a program designed to help educate students on the impact of drinking and driving. District Clerk Chris Daniel redeputizes District Clerks Office employees on Jan. 3.

Jan. 14 Jan. 18 Jan. 20 Jan. 22

Jan. 25

Jan. 29 Feb. 1 Feb. 3 Feb. 4 Feb. 5 Feb. 5 Feb. 8

Chris attends 15th Annual Asian Lunar New Year Festival and the Lunar New Year Festival Annual Celebration at the Chinese Community Center Chris gives FREEfax presentation at Fulbright and Jaworski

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Feb. 9 Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 10 Feb. 11 Feb. 11 Feb. 12 Feb. 18 March 2 March 4 March 7

Chris attends Galleria Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Chris gives FREEfax presentation at King and Spaulding Chris attends Asian Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Chris attends Jury Facilities Workshop (Internal) Chris attends HRBC Reception for Elected Officials Chris speaks at Harris County Black History Celebration Chris attends Lunar New Year Celebration Chris speaks at FREEfax training for legal community Chris gives FREEfax presentation at Jackson Walker Chris attends the Greater Houston Partnership Event: State of the County Address Chris participates in the Shattered Dreams Crash Day filming at the Tejano Center and Raul Yzaguirre School for Success
District Clerk Chris Daniel educates members of LULAC about the functions of the District Clerks Office on Jan. 22 at Donerakis. District Clerk Chris Daniel speaks to attorneys and law firm representatives about the benefits of FREEfax at a presentation on March 3.

March 8 March 8 March 10 March 10 March 11 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 22

Chris speaks at the Shattered Dreams Project Memorial Service Chris attends the GHP- Business of the Rodeo at Reliant Park Chris attends Asian Chamber Luncheon Chris attends Clifton Middle School College and Career Night Chris gives FREEfax presentation for Houston Association of Law Librarians Chris participates in the 33rd Annual St. Patricks Day Parade benefiting Cypress-Creek EMS Chris gives FREEfax presentation to MABAH Chris gives Website presentation to Humble Area Genealogical Society Chris speaks at Downtown Lions Club Chris gives FREEfax and brief Website presentation to Looper, Reed and McGraw

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March 22 March 22 March 24 March 25 March 25 March 26 March 28 March 28 March 28 March 29 March 29 March 31 April 4 April 5 April 5 April 7 April 8 April 8 April 9 April 13 April 15 April 18 April 19 April 20

Chris meets with JP Morgan Chase to discuss records storage project Chris meets with Jake Stine and representatives from tex.gov Chris gives FREEfax and website presentation to Beck, Redden and Sechrest Chris attends the League of Women Voters 2011 Repast Honoring Beverly Kaufman and Sue Schechter Chris attends reception at India House Chris speaks at the 12th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Parade Celebration in Hidalgo Park Chris tours Transtar as part of emergency management preparedness Chris meets with assistant attorneys general regarding child support District Clerks Office sends press release for jury wheel reconstitution Chris gives FREEfax presentation at Baker McKenzie Chris speaks to government class at North Harris College District Clerks Office hosts Health Fair Chris makes electronic service proposal to Constable Abercia Chris attends CenterPoint Energy Supplier Diversity Recognition Breakfast Attends Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Luncheon and Business Expo Chris attends CDCAT Region VII Spring Conference in Beaumont Chris speaks to Lone Star College Political Science Club Chris presents certificates of appreciation to students at Heritage Elementary for loaning their rodeo art to the SECs Go Texan Day event Chris participates in the OCA-GH Walk for C.H.A.N.G.E. Chris presents check from Special Events Committee function to the American Red Cross Chris speaks to the Willowbrook Rotary Club Chris speaks to the LaPorte Lions Club Chris attends the TIGAAR luncheon meeting Chris speaks to the Rotary Club of Galena Park/Jacinto City

District Clerk Chris Daniel presents an historic court case at the Harris County Black History Month Commemoration.

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April 20 April 21 April 21 April 26 April 26

Chris attends Asian American Bar Association solo and small firm networking Chris speaks to the Bellaire Southwest Houston Rotary Club Chris speaks to Phi Alpha Delta Chris and the District Clerks Office host a Free Fax Seminar Chris speaks to the Houston Skyline Rotary Club

April 27-29 Chris attends CDCAT conference in Round Rock May 2 May 3 May 3 May 4 Chris distributes pocket constitutions at jury service for Law Day Chris attends Alief Quarterly networking breakfast Chris meets with LaPorte Rotary Club Chris speaks to senior paralegal students at Westwood College Chris speaks to the Downtown Optimist Club Chris attends LULACs Cinco de Mayo Parade Chris speaks to Klein Lions Club Chris gives appreciation breakfast for the DCO Call Center Chris speaks to Heights Rotary Club of Houston Chris speaks to P.R.O.W. group 41st Annual Banquet of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association Chris speaks to the Tomball Lions Club
District Clerk Chris Daniel served as guest speaker at the Downtown Optimist Club of Houston Respect for Law Day luncheon on May 5. News 2 Houston Anchor Bill Balleza served as emcee. Chris presented awards to six area law enforcement officers nominated by their respective departments. Award recipients included Adam Sweaney, Trooper II, Texas DPS; Sergeant John W. Nickell, Houston Police Department; Deputy United States Marshal Max Pinon; Deputy Donald Hess, Harris County Sheriffs Office; Special Agent Marguerite Hackney, FBI; and Special Agent Shaun Cannon, United States Secret Service.

District Clerk Chris Daniel, Judge Halbach and Houston Bar Association President Mark Kelly distribute miniature copies of the constitution to jurors on May 2 in honor of Law Day.

May 5 May 7 May 10 May 11

May 11 May 12 May 12 May 13

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May 17 May 18 May 19 May 24 May 25 May 26

Chris speaks to Rotary Club of Sharpstown Chris meets with Conference of Urban Counties to discuss Harris County Online Fax Filing System Chris speaks to the Rotary Club of Katy Chris speaks to the Highlands Rotary Club Chris speaks to Baytown Rotary Club Chris gives a Free Fax presentation to Ft. Bend Bar Association Chris speaks to Kingwood Rotary Club Chris greets, gives tour to summer interns Chris speaks to the Humble International Rotary Club Chris speaks to Pasadena Kiwanis Club Chris speaks to Kingwood Kiwanis Club Chris speaks at the BAC Donor Conference Chris attends the HCRP Town Hall meeting Chris speaks to the North Harris Bar Association Chris speaks to the Pasadena Rotary Club
Wayne Landin of the Pasadena Rotary Club greets District Clerk Chris Daniel. Chris spoke to the club on June 10.

May 26 May 31 June 1 June 2 June 3 June 4 June 6 June 9 June 10

June 12-16 Chris attends the 116th Annual CDCAT State Conference in Lewisville, Texas June 21 June 21 June 23 June 23 Chris speaks to Greater Houston Pachyderm Chris participates in the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Harris County Jury Plaza Chris gives FREEfax filing presentation at Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins & Mott LLP Chris speaks to the Pasadena Kiwanis Club

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June 23 June 24

Chris attends the STAR Harris County Drug Court Foundation Graduation Chris and members of the Special Events Committee present a check of proceeds from an SEC fundraiser to Ryan Marsh of the Layla Grace Childrens Cancer Research Foundation Texas.gov visits the District Clerks Office for a review of new processes Chris meets with summer interns from Houston Bar Association and CIS (Communities in Schools) The Harris County Jury Plaza opens to the public

June 28 June 29 July 5

Cutting the ribbon at the Harris County Jury Plaza Open House on June 21 are, from left, Rev. Rudy Rasmus, St. Johns United Methodist Church; Benny Agosto Jr., Houston Bar Association; Hon. Al Bennett, 61st District Court; Hon. Joseph J. Tad Halbach Jr., Local Administrative Judge; Hon. El Franco Lee, Commissioner, Pct. 1; Hon. Mark Kent Ellis, 351st District Court, Hon. Chris Daniel, Harris County District Clerk and Jeff Bricker, Senior Vice President, Page Southerland Page. We hope this new facility will make your right to serve easier, Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel said.

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The Harris County Jury Plaza opened to the public on July 5.