Pike County Circuit Clerk Jamie Scarbrough was the guest speaker at the Brundidge Rotary Club meeting Wednesday.

Scarbrough is the youngest clerk in the state but that has not deterred her for being able to run the circuit clerk’s office with a half staff.

Scarbrough had not stepped into the circuit clerk’s position but a few months when she was required to cut her staff.

“But we have an excellent staff and have been able to handle our workloads without getting behind much more than a week,” she told the Rotarians. “We close the office on Wednesday afternoons so that we can work without interruptions and that’s working for us. We’re working hard and doing the best we can with the staff that we have.”

However, Scarbrough said she could lose two members of the staff who plan to retire in the not too distant future.

“If we aren’t able to replace them, it would be extremely hard to run the office,” she said.

Scarbrough said the Pike County Circuit Clerk’s office handles between 10,000 and 13,000 cases a year and sends between $60,000 and $90,000 a month to the state’s general fund coffer.

“The state’s court system is the largest contributor to the state’s general fund,” she said. “That being so, it’s hard to understand why our funding is being cut but it is.”

Scarbrough said that she has instituted an aggressive restitution program that encourages businesses to accept a lesser amount on bad check debts.

“Sometimes, it’s better to settle and get $1,000 and do away with a $4,000 debt that has been owed for 15 years than get nothing at all,” she said.

Scarbrough has also created a website that will give the public access to the circuit court procedures. Visit pike.alacourt.gov to learn more.