The Palm Beach County Clerk’s office has acted swiftly to install interim leadership after the arrest of Mike Caruso. Though Caruso’s alleged crimes are unrelated to his job, the arrest momentarily cast a gaze onto an office that when working optimally hums in the background, allowing a multitude of government functions to operate.
In the simplest terms, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller‘s office maintains legal records and keeps a watchful eye on the county’s government spending.
The county clerk oversees a staff of about 670 employees and has a budget of about $80 million, according to its 2025-2026 annual budget.
The leader of the office is an elected constitutional officer, meaning the office is required by Florida Constitution
and reports directly to the taxpayers rather than the county commission.
Caruso was appointed to the job by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2025 to replace Joseph Abruzzo, who had stepped down to become the county administrator. Abruzzo was first elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024. His predecessor was Sharon Bock, who served in the position for 16 years. Shannon Ramsey-Chessman, who has worked in the clerk's office for more than two decades, was appointed as interim clerk effective Aug. 18.
What does the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller do?
As described in its annual budget report, the clerk’s office has a multitude of responsibilities, including:
- Monitoring the county budget, revenue, debt, and spending.
- Paying all the county's bills and maintains the records required to comply with state and federal laws.
- Managing and earning interest income for the county on the average investment portfolio size of about $4.5 billion.
- Auditing county expenditures to ensure they serve a public purpose, comply with the law and are within the county's budget.
- Maintaining the records of the County Commission and other meetings and providing all meeting minutes and videos to the public via the Clerk's website.
- Overseeing records for the county’s criminal and civil courts
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mike Caruso arrested. What does the Palm Beach County Clerk office do?
