Burns County courts and offices must handle a great deal of paperwork as efficiently as possible to operate smoothly. One way to ensure individuals involved in court matters receive information in a timely and efficient manner is to deliver it personally.

Carroll County Sheriff Tony Burns talked with the Comet last week about process serving, a method used by courts to ensure legal documents are delivered to residents in a timely and official manner.

The sheriff's office is charged with process serving. The benefits of the system make it worthwhile according to Burns.

Arrest warrants are not served through the system. Examples of documents delivered through the service include protective or restraining orders, marriage dissolutions, subpoenas, summons (in lieu of warrants), sheriff's sales, evictions and executions of judgments.

Residents are served to inform them of legal actions. Several steps are followed to ensure proper notice is given. Legal documents are first filed by the clerk's office and taken from there by a process server to be delivered. The server then delivers the notice and the service is documented.

Roe "The sheriff and his deputies are considered court officers," Burns told the Comet. "The courts feel comfortable that when papers are served through the sheriff's office they will be delivered properly and in a timely manner. It provides proof of service."

As the number of documents to be served increased yearly, the need for a position dedicated to the service was clear. In 2006 the sheriff's office hired a part-time employee with the sole purpose to see the documents through the process. Cur- rently, that position is held by Delphi resident Dick Roe.

Roe said he had recently retired when then-deputy Burns approached him about the process server position. Burns, who was responsible for the duty at the time, told Roe deputies were swamped trying to fit the duty in among patrol responsibilities and needed someone to lift the burden. Roe agreed to perform the task.

Roe has served more than 2,200 legal documents this year, approximately 20 per workday. As of halfway through December, he has collected $7,000 of the $12,000 budgeted for the position.

Thus far, over $11,000 has been collected through filing and service fees. Money generated from the fees is collected in the county general fund and used to off-set money the county is required to collect for the police pension fund.

Burns said Roe's efficiency and how he respectfully, yet firmly, served the papers made a difficult task manageable.

"Dick has been able to serve papers and remain well under his budgeted salary," Burns commented. "He saves the county money through his efficiency and communicates very well with residents. He does his job very admirably."

Roe said he has had little trouble with residents who were being served.

"These papers do not involve the arrest of an individual, but generally they represent bad news," he explained. "I try to approach difficult situations tactfully, but truly there aren't many problems that arise. Really, the worst part about it is the dogs that chase me."