CLAY COUNTY – After much consideration, the decision was made on Monday, March 22, to permanently close the small branch offices of the Clay County Clerk of Court and Comptroller’s Office in both Middleburg and Keystone Heights.

The large branch office located in Orange Park on Park Avenue will remain open as always, and the main full-service office located inside the Clay County Courthouse in Green Cove Springs remain available Monday-Friday as well.

Prompted by COVID-19 restrictions and thanks to newly-available technology, steps were taken to improve and expand the organization’s online/remote options for community members who choose to use www.clayclerk.com to access information, make payments or to access services, instead of coming in-person to any of our office locations. No-contact drop boxes remain available in Orange Park and Green Cove Springs. The Middleburg and Keystone Heights branch office locations were initially opened years ago, just one day a week, as a convenience for residents in those areas.

In Middleburg, the branch was part of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office substation on Blanding Boulevard. In Keystone Heights, the branch was part of the Tax Collector’s Office on State Road 100. Both the CCSO and Tax Collector were notified personnel will not resume services there and that materials, equipment and signage will be removed.

As with many government services, the impact of COVID-19 caused the closure of these offices last year and a recent assessment of their continued use was done.

The small branch offices are not conducive to COVID-19 retrofitting, plus, the staff who would normally travel to these branch locations are needed in our Orange Park location where in-person demand for services and foot traffic is increasing. Clerk of Court and Comptroller Tara S. Green says her staff is looking for ways to increase convenience and enhance the ways citizens do business with our offices and with the court system.

“We are evaluating the need for future, alternate branch locations based on the growth of the county, taking into consideration how many of our services are now available online,” she said.