HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – When Victor Crist became Hillsborough County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller (COC) on January 7, 2025, he and his transition team began a thorough, organization-wide review and assessment. A sweeping transformation of the COC ensued, returning $1.15 million in unspent funds from the 2025 budget.
“We reduced our 2026 budget by 14%, returning $2.04 million or half back to the County for taxpayers and reinvested the other half, $2.04 million, into our organization for improved retention, performance, and efficiency,” Crist said.
The office is currently reviewing all contracts to assess what should be renegotiated or rebid for additional cost savings. Clerk Victor Crist said added efficiency improvements are expected.
The Clerk’s Office leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) while collaborating with a volunteer team at the University of South Florida Credit Union to review the lengthy and complex banking services proposals.
The team’s meticulous 100-page analysis prompted the Clerk to change the County’s banking vendor. Every AI-generated score, reference, and citation was verified by human reviewers.
As a result, the COC expects to see significant cost savings through banking fee reductions.
Clerk Victor Crist is a former Florida State Senator who chaired the Senate’s powerful Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee, delivering leadership over financial affairs and statewide judicial branch operations.
Crist inverted the organizational chart at the Clerk’s Office to operate with a “servant leadership” structure. An unusual move among government entities, Clerk Victor Crist said he wanted to empower employees to prove they would be heard and able to participate in decision making.
“I am basically a red captain on a blue ship,” he explained, noting he is the first Republican in modern times elected as Hillsborough County’s Clerk. He added, “We are proving that Republicans and Democrats can work together.”
Productivity increased even though the workforce was cut by more than 7% percent – nearly 50 jobs – and unneeded tasks and services were eliminated. The strategic
restructuring better aligned operations with current goals, functional responsibilities, and long-term service delivery. Clerk Crist’s current role supports nearly 700 employees.
The launch of a formal training department and a minimum wage increase from $15 per hour to $20 has helped improve the organization’s climate, culture and retention.
“We had a very unhealthy, high turnover rate of experienced employees because we were grossly underpaying our frontline workers,” said Clerk Victor Crist. He stated that employee survey participation, morale and job satisfaction have dramatically improved. Now team members who previously had to work two jobs to make ends meet can focus on just one job and have more time for their families and important things in their lives.
Clerk Victor Crist expressed that customer satisfaction has significantly increased, with praise for employees’ improved attitudes, speed and quality of work.
He described how the COC’s new training department has changed the trajectory for the future of the Clerk’s Office.
“There was no formal training department, staff or curriculum – just on-the-job guidance,” Clerk Victor Crist said. “We had to rewrite policies, procedures, and our operating plan. Today, everyone receives training opportunities, and now we are working to define clear career paths for team members.”
The COC’s office supports 70 judges. Crist said judges are now expressing high satisfaction and confidence from the Clerk’s new employee support services.
Senior Director of Training, Eric Coleman, described how judges and customers receive support through the Office’s new Training Department.
“All judges now have access to properly trained clerks, which is protecting judges from multitasking and will reduce their case backlogs,” Coleman said. “An intensive six-to eight-week training period for our clerks ensures judges have a court-specific clerk to manage case documentation, court dockets and other duties that were pulling them off the bench in the past. Previously, there were family and circuit civil court judges who had little to no access to clerks, let alone those trained in their specific specialties.”
Clerk Victor Crist said internal improvements at the Clerk’s Office will continue throughout 2026.
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