At a Lake County Board of County Commissioners work session, county legal staff said they need a full-time paralegal and a county records-retention manager to handle frequent public-records requests, contract workflow and records review.

County Attorney Matt Hobbs said the office receives "3 to 6 a week" public-records requests that carry tight statutory deadlines and that adding paralegal support would free him to handle larger legal issues. "I think it's helpful that Chris [Floyd] is here because he obviously has a lot more background than I have," Hobbs said, adding that support for contract workflow and records processing is a near-term priority.

Special County Attorney Chris Floyd agreed, saying the volume of work is substantial and that Hobbs needs support "before I leave" to ensure an orderly transition. Floyd told commissioners that records review often requires legal judgment about disclosure exemptions and that outside contractors typically cannot perform that review. "It's not something, you know, AI and automation is great in its place, but I don't think in circumstances like this, it will replace a human being," Floyd said.

Why it matters: County officials said failing to add staff risks delayed responses to public-records requests or improper disclosures of privileged or exempt material, which could expose the county to legal liability. Officials also described an ongoing effort to create a countywide records-retention policy and to clarify where records are stored (digital versus physical).

Details from the discussion:
- Workload and timing: Officials described 3–6 public-records requests arriving weekly and statutory response windows as short as three days. They said some requests relate to land use, finance, sheriff and criminal records, each with different processing needs.
- Records retention and digitization: Staff reported the records-retention effort has been underway since January 2023 and involves every county office. Officials said some permanent physical records must remain per state archives rules, but they urged moving to a predominantly digital system and appointing a records-retention manager; several staff changes mean continuity is a concern.
- Budget and hiring: County staff said the position can be funded from the general fund and that money for a paralegal and for records-retention work is included in next year’s budget. Commissioners were told a supplemental appropriation should not be necessary "as long as there's room in the general fund." Officials noted recruiting now likely means a start date in late November or December, and that a contracted outside vendor would not solve all local needs because on-site shepherding and legal review are required.
- Training and transition: Staff said they are coordinating training with Dennis Hunt of CCCI and that outgoing staff who have led records work (identified in the meeting as Liz) will need to hand off work to incoming staff (including a staff member named Sarah and a former legal assistant, John, who assisted as a law clerk intern).

Officials framed the hiring as a resiliency and efficiency measure: by reducing administrative burden, the paralegal would allow the county attorney to spend more time on substantive legal matters. Commissioners were told the office has budgeted for the role in the coming fiscal year and that posting and recruitment could begin soon.

The county did not take a formal vote during the work session; staff presented their staffing and records-retention plans for commissioners' consideration and said they would proceed with recruitment and training steps consistent with the general-fund budget guidance.