A total of 3,788 cases were started in 2015 in the office of Carbon County Prothonotary Joann M. Behrens, according to an annual statistical report released by the officeholder.

The office serves as the headquarters for filing civil legal documents in the Court of Common Pleas, 56th Judicial District.A breakdown of the 2015 cases is as follows:Assessment appeals, 6; civil actions, 378; custody complaints, 220; district justice appeals, 64; declaratory judgments, 2; divorce complaints, 214; complaints in ejectment, 46; license appeals, 27; mortgage foreclosure complaints, 290; municipal appeal, 1; complaints in partition, 8; name change petitions, 6; protection from abuse petitions, 332; quiet title actions, 12; replevin complaints, 8; tax sales, 9; zoning appeals, 3; auditor/financial reports, 5; court rules, 5; court appointments, 8; judgments, 2,078; miscellaneous cases, 30; official oath, 1; paternity suits, 5; stipulations/waivers of liens, 29; and writ of execution, 1. The office also filed and processed 151 complaints to modify custody.Behrens reported the Prothonotary's Office continues to serve as the sole receiver of passport applications for the U.S. Department of State. In 2015, there was a total of 1,152 applications that were received and processed by the office. The number of applications for passports that were received last year remained steady with prior years. In 2014, 965 people sought the legal document that allows people to leave the country, while there were 1,002 passport applications processed in the office in 2013.Behrens' financial report for the past 12 months shows $409,806.24 was generated as follows:Prothonotary's fees, $342,665.24; interest income, $42.59; custody fees, $7,800; data processing fees, $58,362.71; PFA Surcharge, courts, $425; PFA surcharge, Sheriff; $510.70; and remote access fees, $23,900.The report points out department operational expenses for the last year amounted to $298,731.94, resulting in the prothonotary's office generating a profit of $111,074.30 for the 2015.The prothonotary also remitted $54,748.90 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Revenue, representing state fees collected locally, and $823.20 to the Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts, this being surcharges on new custody cases in accordance with Act 119 of 1996. Another $15,869.25 was deposited in the Prothonotary's Automation Fund for future use in automating the office.