US Naval Reserve Officer Business Leader Appointed by Governor DeSantis

Appointed in December 2019 by Governor Ron DeSantis and elected unopposed in 2020, Brandon Patty serves as clerk of the circuit court and comptroller for St. Johns County. Patty manages a $16.1 million budget and a staff of over 125 responsible for more than 1,000 constitutional and regulatory duties – everything from maintaining court records to issuing passports and marriage licenses.

Over the past five years, Patty has modernized and streamlined the office by focusing on:
Protecting public dollars, providing world-class customer service to residents and stakeholders and enhancing transparency across government. Some notable accomplishments include:

• Certified as a Florida Clerk of Court and Comptroller in 2021, a rigorous training program overseen by the Florida Supreme Court
• Launched the Property Fraud Notification and Prevention Campaign to protect residents from a growing white-collar crime
• Developed and implemented a safe though aggressive short-term investment strategy which earned over $30 million in interest, thereby increasing funding available for county projects and priorities
• Signed on a third-party vendor management system which verifies vendor information to protect against business email compromise and other scam attempts
• Awarded Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting, the gold standard in governmental accounting and financial reporting, four years in a row
• Invested in the Office of the Inspector General with increased funding and personnel to increase oversight and accountability across the Clerk’s office and county government
• Created and distributed the annual Guide to Taxpayer Dollars, a yearly guide to how tax dollars are assessed, collected and spent on behalf of St Johns County residents
• Alerted residents to various scams including false missed jury notifications, false county deed records solicitations and other efforts to defraud residents.
• Developed and implemented first ever career path for employees
• Leveraged cutting edge technology like artificial intelligence to enhance efficiencies and service
• Advocated for and secured additional judge in 2020 to facilitate justice
• Fought for additional dollars and fair share of state court budget to attract and retain personnel as St Johns County’s court operations was one of the least funded in the state.
• Instituted Israel-St Johns County Friendship Day and advocated for investment policy revision banning investments in companies that participate in the Boycott, Divesture, and Sanctions movement
• Recognized as a Patriotic Employer by the Office of the Secretary Defense, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

In his second term, Patty would continue to build on these initiatives as well as fight for increased court funding to ensure high-quality service to residents and stakeholders.

A lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Patty is an information warfare officer and has served at the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office in Washington, DC, in the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and Naval Central Command/5th Fleet based at Manama, Bahrain.

Patty is a second-generation Floridian and the first member of his family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

He lives in St. Augustine with his wife Brittney, sons Mason, Graham, and Carter plus their two dogs, Roscoe and Howie.

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