Penny Bogan has traveled all over the world, but there has been a career constant in her life—the Boone County Clerk’s Office. She started working in the office in 1986. The secret to her 25-year success is pretty simple—her philosophy revolves around the importance of teamwork. “We’re all working with the same goal. We have meetings with the judges, the prosecutor and the sheriff. We all need to be on the same page. It’s worked well for us to discuss any issues.”
Over the years, the caseload of the Boone County courts has increased. When Bogan started in the Clerk’s office, there were just over 7,000 new cases filed each year. By 2000, that number had climbed to over 10,000 new filings, and in 2009 the annual filings were over 16,600. “It’s a tremendous amount of work, our caseload is exploding. We have to be more organized than ever before,” said Bogan.
The newly filed cases are in addition to the Clerk’s many other duties. “It’s much more than people realize,” Bogan explained while providing a detailed list of her other responsibilities. “We process bond-related payments, handle traffic tickets, issue marriage licenses, do book-keeping, process tax warrants, garnishments and mortgage foreclosures, work on sheriff sales, take care of old records, process child support and, of course, are responsible for election administration.” With so many tasks, Bogan and her staff of 9 are continually working on improvements to their processes. She believes that if there is ever a reduction in staff in the future due to fiscal pressures these improvements will be vital to their daily operations.
Bogan’s team is working with the Indiana Judicial Conference Strategic Planning Committee on a pilot project to improve the way trial court records are managed. “We’ve met four times. It’s a work-in-progress, and we have a lot of great ideas,” said Bogan. Montgomery County Superior Court Judge Peggy Lohorn is a member of the strategic planning committee and is working with Bogan and other clerks on this project. Clerk Bogan also serves on the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Taskforce Committee, and she was just recently asked by Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steve David to serve on a special task force of the Supreme Court Records Management Committee which will study and make recommendations to improve the judgment docket book.
“Record keeping, file maintenance, transcript preparation and contact with the public are handled in a variety of ways by clerks in different counties,” explained Judge Lohorn. “The strategic planning committee and a committee of clerks are brainstorming about ideas to transfer court-related clerk functions. Boone County’s organization and method for keeping records could be replicated by other counties. These pilot projects in volunteer counties with small, medium and large populations will allow courts to continue working with clerks to provide service to the public in a professional, timely and efficient manner.”
In Boone County, the Clerk’s office scans the case documents when they are received and then transfers the case file to the court handling the case. But not all counties handle records in the same way. “In speaking with other clerks,” said Bogan, “there are concerns about having the capability of locating the file immediately.”
For Bogan, improving practices means better customer service. “We have five city courts that handle traffic tickets” she said. “A police officer can file the ticket in any one of those courts. If the person who got the ticket misplaces it, she may have to call five different courts to find her ticket and get information about court procedures or how to pay the ticket. This might give the public a less favorable impression of our efficiency. People should only have to contact one office.”
When Bogan is not busy with Clerk’s office business, she is devoted to her family and travel. She’s also a self-described “art fanatic.” Bogan loves landscape oil paintings. An artist herself, she has a few of her own works in her home. She has also given some of her pieces as gifts to friends. She enjoys traveling around the globe to see famous works of art and spending time vacationing in Paris and London with her husband of 38-years, Tom Bogan. The one-time high school sweethearts now have 3 grandchildren, whom they recently surprised with a trip to Disney World.
Bogan is grateful to have her children and grandchildren near-by and honored to be a public servant working with such a dedicated court family. “I have never regretted my decision to add my name to the ballot,” she explained. “I admire anyone who campaigns and stands strong on issues to help better the community. In January, I was sworn into office for my last four-year term. It was a bittersweet moment. Hopefully I have improved the office, and it has always been my intention to work together with my local officials, fellow Clerks, and with state legislators. Clerks are only as good as our staff, and I respect each one of them and the work they do to ensure the integrity of our office. There are still many tasks I hope to achieve in my next four years. I want to leave with a good feeling that I have made a difference.”