End of an era for retiring county clerk
After 21 years of serving the citizens of Monroe County as its county clerk, Dennis Knobloch is retiring.
โThe timing was right more than anything,โ said Knobloch, who turns 65 on Thursday. โI would be more than willing to continue working for another year or so, but a job like this you have to take in four-year chunks. I felt it was time to move on to the next chapter of my life and let somebody else take the position.โ
Although he will still serve as village administrator in Valmeyer, this largely marks the end of a long and distinguished career of public service for Knobloch.ย
After leading Valmeyer through the process of relocating and rebuilding after the Flood of 1993 as mayor and administrator, Knobloch was appointed county clerk in December 1997.
His appointment came after longtime county clerk Richard A. Trost was sentenced to serve 50 months in prison for mail fraud and money laundering.ย
โThroughout my life Iโve had an interest in politics and public service,โ Knobloch, a Republican, said of why he took the position. โI spent a lot of years involved in local government with the village of Valmeyer and when this opportunity presented itself I thought, โwhat better way to continue my service to the community than to accept the appointment to this position.โโ
Knoblochโs first priority during his first year in office was to reestablish the publicโs faith in the integrity of the office.ย
He said he did that, but not on his own.ย
โA lot of it depended on the assistance of my team, my employees who were here in the office,โ he explained. โThroughout my entire time Iโve been here, Iโve had a very hardworking and dedicated group of people working in the office. They are the face of the office in the front door. So, it depends on having a quality team.โ
After serving out the last year of Trostโs term, Knobloch won re-election to full four-year terms in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014.ย
He said he wanted to stay in the job because more work needed to be done.ย
โThere always were additional things that could be done here to improve the service to the community and make things operate better,โ he noted. โIt was always a challenge and continues to be with the new laws that keep coming down for elections and how you handle the recording of land records and documents.โย
In addition to those new regulations, Knobloch said the most difficult part of his tenure has been keeping up with technology.ย
โWhen I started here the elections were still with the old punch card ballots,โ he remembered. โAs we made the transition to the electronic equipment, the optical scan ballots and the touch screen equipment, it has continued to provide a challenge to first of all come up with the necessary funding. Itโs not cheap to bring in new systems like that and to continue to maintain and upgrade the equipment as necessary to provide the quality service.โ
Knobloch added the growth in Monroe County has provided other challenges, as his office changed and adapted to accommodate the new citizens.ย
โBack when I started, you could still drive from Columbia to Waterloo and not see much in between except cornfields,โ Knobloch recalled. โNow that has all changed with the development in both areas and throughout the county.โ
Even with those difficulties, Knobloch said he has enjoyed his job, with one aspect being his favorite.ย
โWhat I have always enjoyed most about this job is working with the people,โ he said. โThroughout my life Iโve had jobs where Iโve worked with the public and Iโve really enjoyed that part of it. Thatโs the part Iโm going to miss.โ
Knobloch has already begun working with his successor, Republican Jonathan McLean. He has met with McLean to help him get acclimated to the role.
โI think itโs going to be a very smooth transition,โ Knobloch said. โHeโs very qualified. I think heโll do a great job for the public.โ
After Knoblochโs last day on Nov. 30, he said he does not have specific plans for his retirement.ย
โI donโt really have anything definite planned, but I have always been extremely active in community events and outside activities,โ he said. โI have a list of things that Iโve been keeping through the years that I havenโt quite gotten to finish. I figure if I live to be 127, Iโll get all those things done.โ
His tenure as county clerk, however, is all but done. Knobloch said he hopes his legacy will be one of outstanding service.ย โI would just hope that everybody in the county who has dealt with me feels that I have done a good job of taking care of their needs,โ he said. โI have never been farther away from the public than a phone call or a visit to my office. No matter who came in the office, we took care of their needs and answered their questions. I think thatโs why I feel that through the years we have done a good job of running the office.โ