CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL CLERK OF COURTS CANDIDATE PHIL PAVARINI ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR FIRST 180 DAYS IN OFFICE
Pavarini will model our system after healthier systems nationwide, examine current staff roles and create new educational opportunities for budding legal professionals and ex-offenders.
CLEVELAND, OH – Cleveland Municipal Clerk of Courts Candidate Phil Pavarini has released a detailed plan that he intends to follow his first 180 days in office. His plan focuses on studying other more efficient and healthy clerk of courts systems, adapting our system to those successful models, examining current staff roles and creating a job incubator including new educational internships and opportunities for budding legal professionals, ex-offenders, who deserve a second chance, and others.
Building a Healthy Clerk of Courts Office
“I have seen the inefficiencies and injustices in the Clerk of Courts office first hand,” says Phil Pavarini. “Certain legal professionals are shown favoritism, members of the public who need to work with the office are not treated with dignity and respect, documents are improperly handled and the public is sometimes barred from information that they have a right to know,” he explains. “When elected, I plan to clear up these issues and model our system after the healthiest, most efficient and most citizen-friendly systems across the state and nationwide. I want to learn from those offices that are doing a great job and improve the Cleveland office for all constituents,” says Pavarini.
Pavarini plans to spend part of his first 180 days in office visiting the staff and leadership of other clerk of courts offices, including those like Franklin and Summit Counties, which he believes has better systems. “Summit County is a great example of what we should be trying to achieve here in Cleveland,” says Pavarini. Just one example of a specific change Pavarini will make based on his visits is the full implementation of online access to the clerk’s office. “Summit, for example, has a multi-jurisdictional website that offers comprehensive access to dockets,” he says. The current clerk of courts in Cleveland has remained in phase one of web access implementation for over a decade. “Cleveland should not be lagging behind other cities in offering convenient, modern access to the clerk of courts office,” says Pavarini. Pavarini will also review other record-keeping systems and ensure that Cleveland’s is appropriately updated and maintained.
Examining the Roles of Current Staff
“Upon entering office, I plan to spend a half day with each of the employees in the clerk of courts office, learn about how they do their job, and how well the system is working right now from their perspective,” says Phi Pavarini. “Oftentimes supervisors do not benefit from the diversity and unique perspective of the people who work on the front lines, because they either do not take the time to listen, or their egos impede them from really understanding the issues of these important people,” he says. “These
are the members of the office who are experiencing the problems and inefficiencies first hand, and who can offer me the most information about what is working and what needs to be fixed,” says Pavarini.
Pavarini plans to spend a portion of his first 180 days in office meeting with each staff member individually to learn about their job function and determine how each position interacts with both other staff members and the public. He also plans to provide corporate employee training seminars to the front line staff to ensure that they will provide excellent customer service to the constituents of the court. “Many public offices and bureaus have a reputation for treating the public poorly,” says Pavarini. “I am committed to ensuring that everyone who visits the clerk of courts has an efficient, positive experience and is treated with dignity and respect.” Pavarini also believes that knowing the staff is crucial to improving the record-keeping and internal functions of the office. “The most important tasks I have are to make sure that my staff members are in a position they want to be in, to learn about their concerns, to understand their personal needs, and to raise the overall attitude and job satisfaction of the people who work in the clerk of courts office. I want to bring in the caring and closeness of a small business and the savvy and professionalism of a corporate environment,” says Pavarini.
Creating a Job Incubator for Legal Professionals and Others
“I would like to see the clerk of courts office become an incubator for legal professionals,” says Pavarini. “This office should be a stepping stone, rather than a destination for professionals of all types.” Pavarini recently learned that a large number of staffers were forced to retire and are being kept on as part-timers in the current system. He is adamant that this practice, which is obviously meant to save the office money, is unfair to the workers and contributes to the poor job satisfaction and low morale in the office. “Instead of keeping the same employees for 10 or 20 years until the office can no longer afford their salaries, forcing them to retire or stay on as part-time workers, I would like to create an exciting environment where young professionals come to learn, work and be mentored for a few years and then are able to move on to bigger and better careers, leaving room for others to come learn,” he explains.
“As staff members leave and retire,” says Pavarini, “I hope to attract some of the best law clerks and other legal and administrative professionals, and develop relationships with area law firms so that when they need to hire an accomplished, experienced law clerk, they know they can contact my office,” he says. “Ideally I’d like the office to mentor these young professionals, and become known for its quality legal and administrative staff. That way, when these people are ready to move on, we can promote from without into some of the area’s biggest law firms.” Not only will this plan ensure the best and the brightest are working in the clerk’s office, it will also provide opportunity for students, ex-offenders and others who Pavarini intends to include when hiring. “With such a large staff, there exists a major opportunity to assist those in need of a position and a second chance,” says Pavarini.
Work Wanted
While Pavarini’s plans for his first 180 days in office may seem ambitious, he hopes that the public and the media will hold him to it. “Hard work is one of the biggest assets I can bring to this position,” says Pavarini. “I have the experience and the knowledge, but the hard work is what this office has been lacking. I want to step in and do what needs to be done for the sake of my city and the safety of its citizens,” he says.
About Phil Pavarini, Jr.
Pavarini has over 10 years of experience working with the court system and the current Cleveland Municipal Clerk of Courts. Pavarini is a business owner, Private Investigator, licensed by the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and a Surety Bail Bond Agent. A graduate of the United States Army Military Police Academy, Pavarini has also been active in the community as a previous member of the Tremont West Development Corporation Board of Directors and responsible for the re-initiation of neighborhoods safety committee.
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