photo/Andrew Sullivan

By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Osceola County Clerk of Courts Malcom Thompson recently paid back the office $800 for professional business cards after public records revealed the first-term Democrat had used taxpayers money to fund the purchase despite a budget cut to the office.

Thompson issued a personal check to the clerk's office for $800 on Aug. 10 for repayment for the cards.

The business cards, printed by a local printing shop, cost $785 for 1,000 units, or 70 cents per card. The purchase was approved by Thompson's office in June.

Business cards for the recently hired clerk's office finance director Tiffany Morton cost $92 for 500 cards, or 18 cents per card.

Thompson's business cards were so expensive because Thompson's name and the Clerk of Court seal are both incased in gold foil and are raised on the card's surface.

Both features require separate die casts to print, according to the local printer who did not want to be identified. The die casts alone cost approximately $500 and are made of copper, the printer added.

Clerk's offices around the state were hit last year with a 7 percent budget cut, prompting Thompson to close the Osceola County Clerk of Courts Office at noon on Fridays to give clerks time to catch up their work. Thompson reversed his decision after only one closure due to public outcry.

Due to the budget cut, the clerk's office has been unable to hire additional staff except in critical positions and has not provided raises to employees for four years.

Thompson is the incumbent in the Osceola County Clerk of Courts race against two Democratic opponents in today's primary. There are four candidates in the Republican race for the position.

The winners of each party's race will face off in the general election Nov. 6.