If the squeaky wheel gets the oil, Shelby County Circuit Clerk Mary Harris is going to keep on squeaking.

In November, Harris commissioned the help of the Shelby County Bar Association in asking the state to supply her office with more employees to handle a case load that grew by more than a third in the last decade.

According to a state Manpower Report issued last fall by the Alabama Judicial Information System, the Shelby County Circuit Clerk's Office should be supported by a minimum of 20 staff members.

But Harris said her office of 16 had not seen a new position added since 1989 - until last month.

Harris finally got her wish - or at least part of it - when the state Administrative Office of Courts recently granted the 18th Judicial Circuit one more clerk's office employee.

"All of the letter writing finally paid off," Harris said, "but I actually still need four more."

Since making her plea to the state for more employees, figures for 2001 have come in that show the case load rose again, from 15,642 in 2000 to 17,516 last year.

As Harris said, her office is right back where it was before the addition of the new employee.

Harris said the workload is beginning to take its toll on her employees, who combined logged well over 2,000 hours in unpaid overtime in 2001.

"My ladies in this office are routinely working six or seven days a week, and I can't ask them to do anymore," She said.

"We've pretty much streamlined everything we can streamline. It's just a matter of now, we've got to have more warm bodies."

Harris said she has heard pledges for relief from the state before. Each time a new circuit judge was added - twice in the last decade - her office was assured another employee to match, but the promises were never fulfilled.

"We've gotten the two new judges, the two new court reporters, the two secretaries, but not the two clerks," Harris said.

At the same time, the Circuit Clerk's office collected for the state more than $7.3 million in court fees and child support payments in 2001 alone, Harris said.

Harris said she has her fingers crossed that 2002 will be the year her voice will finally be heard.

The Administrative Office of Courts has placed a budget request that, if approved by the Legislature, will add 76 new circuit clerk employees statewide.

Harris said she has been told that lawmakers should take up the bill during the regular session now in progress.

"Maybe we can get some of those in Shelby County," Harris said.