Clerk of Courts Trish Baker Resigns
By Brandi Makuski
Portage Co. Clerk of Courts Trish Baker has resigned from her office.
In a letter to Judge Thomas Flugaur dated Jan. 27, Baker said she was resigning effective March 10. In her letter, Baker said she was “hopeful” Flugaur looked upon her five years in the office as “successful”.
In her letter, Baker outlined some of her accomplishments while in the office, to include assisting with the implementation of municipal court, conversion to the state’s CCAP software, improved collections procedures and mechanisms for the county, and a successful reorganization of her office that “reduced overall staff but increased wages.”
“It has been a very good five years for our county courts and I am grateful for the opportunity to have served in this role,” Baker wrote in the letter. She did not give a reason for stepping down.
Baker is at least the five administrator — the third serving in elected office — to resign from Portage Co. government since September. Emergency Management Director Matt Dykstra and his deputy manager, Bert Nitzke, along with Portage Co. Treasurer Stephanie Stokes, all resigned last September. Portage Co. Corp Counsel Mike McKenna resigned Jan. 7.
Baker also serves on the Stevens Point School Board and on the Village Board in Park Ridge, where she also plans to run for village president. She previously ran for Portage Co. Circuit Court Judge in 2015.
Baker wrote in her letter that she would be willing to stay “a week or two” beyond the March 10 date to help provide a smooth transition for whomever replaces her.
Baker was appointed to the position in 2011, then was elected to the post in 2014. Her current term expires in 2018.
A call to Baker’s office for comment was not immediately returned.
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