Jonathan K. Del Collo, Prothonotary
Jonathan K. Del Collo
Prothonotary
Jonathan K. “J.D.” Del Collo was born in Reading and grew up in Mount Penn. He is a graduate of Antietam High School and a 1995 graduate of American University in Washington, DC, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with concentrations on public administration and pre-law. In 1996, Mr. Del Collo was chosen to serve as Executive Assistant to City of Reading Mayor Paul J. Angstadt, the first “Strong Mayor” under Reading’s new home-rule form of government that went into effect that year.
In 1999, Mr. Del Collo accepted the Office Manager position in the Berks County Recorder of Deeds Office, eventually rising to the positions of 2nd Deputy and, in 2003, Chief Deputy Recorder of Deeds. In 2006, Mr. Del Collo accepted the position of Chief Deputy Prothonotary for the County of Berks, working under Prothonotary Marianne R. Sutton. Mr. Del Collo assisted Prothonotary Sutton in implementing important initiatives with the Prothonotary Office including an automated cashiering system (2006), a new case management system (2013), e-filing (2014) and the judicial filing of documents (2015). On October 3, 2016, Prothonotary Marianne R. Sutton retired from public service. On October 4, 2016, Mr. Del Collo was sworn in by Berks County President Judge Paul M. Yatron as Acting Prothonotary of Berks County. On November 7, 2017, Mr. Del Collo was overwhelmingly elected to a full four year term to the office and was sworn in as the 56th Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County on December 29, 2017. Since taking office, Mr. Del Collo has aggressively worked to digitize the Prothonotary Office’s historical and naturalization records. In the 2-year period of 2018-2019 a total of 443,966 pages of historical records were digitized and 49,702 pages of naturalization records were digitized. Further, by creating efficiencies in the office, 3 ½ positions were eliminated through attrition, saving Berks County’s taxpayers more than $230,000 in 2018-2019. Further savings will be realized in 2020 and beyond.
Using technology to communicate with his office’s customers and Berks Countians was another major goal of Mr. Del Collo’s when he took office. As a result, the Berks County Prothonotary’s Office became the first Prothonotary Office in Pennsylvania to launch a mobile app in June 2019!
In June 2018, at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania State Association of Prothonotaries and Clerks of Courts, Mr. Del Collo was honored by the Association as its “Honoree of the Year.”
Mr. Del Collo’s public service began when he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Antietam School Board in the late 1990’s and was elected in 2001 to the Mt. Penn Borough Council, serving until 2003. He also previously served as a member of the City of Reading Ethics Board.
Mr. Del Collo’s interests include history, politics, baseball, heraldry, genealogy and opera. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Berks County (now Berks History Center) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Reading Symphony Orchestra. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Berks Opera Company.
Mr. Del Collo has taught genealogical classes for Reading Area Community College (RACC) and the Wyomissing Area Education Foundation. Currently, he is at work on a book about the life of Anthony Mirenna, AKA “Tony Moran,” who was the overlord of organized crime in Reading in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Mr. Del Collo and his wife, Rebecca M. Gordon, reside in Hampden Heights in the City of Reading with their feline children.
In 1999, Mr. Del Collo accepted the Office Manager position in the Berks County Recorder of Deeds Office, eventually rising to the positions of 2nd Deputy and, in 2003, Chief Deputy Recorder of Deeds. In 2006, Mr. Del Collo accepted the position of Chief Deputy Prothonotary for the County of Berks, working under Prothonotary Marianne R. Sutton. Mr. Del Collo assisted Prothonotary Sutton in implementing important initiatives with the Prothonotary Office including an automated cashiering system (2006), a new case management system (2013), e-filing (2014) and the judicial filing of documents (2015). On October 3, 2016, Prothonotary Marianne R. Sutton retired from public service. On October 4, 2016, Mr. Del Collo was sworn in by Berks County President Judge Paul M. Yatron as Acting Prothonotary of Berks County. On November 7, 2017, Mr. Del Collo was overwhelmingly elected to a full four year term to the office and was sworn in as the 56th Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County on December 29, 2017. Since taking office, Mr. Del Collo has aggressively worked to digitize the Prothonotary Office’s historical and naturalization records. In the 2-year period of 2018-2019 a total of 443,966 pages of historical records were digitized and 49,702 pages of naturalization records were digitized. Further, by creating efficiencies in the office, 3 ½ positions were eliminated through attrition, saving Berks County’s taxpayers more than $230,000 in 2018-2019. Further savings will be realized in 2020 and beyond.
Using technology to communicate with his office’s customers and Berks Countians was another major goal of Mr. Del Collo’s when he took office. As a result, the Berks County Prothonotary’s Office became the first Prothonotary Office in Pennsylvania to launch a mobile app in June 2019!
In June 2018, at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania State Association of Prothonotaries and Clerks of Courts, Mr. Del Collo was honored by the Association as its “Honoree of the Year.”
Mr. Del Collo’s public service began when he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Antietam School Board in the late 1990’s and was elected in 2001 to the Mt. Penn Borough Council, serving until 2003. He also previously served as a member of the City of Reading Ethics Board.
Mr. Del Collo’s interests include history, politics, baseball, heraldry, genealogy and opera. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Historical Society of Berks County (now Berks History Center) and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Reading Symphony Orchestra. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Berks Opera Company.
Mr. Del Collo has taught genealogical classes for Reading Area Community College (RACC) and the Wyomissing Area Education Foundation. Currently, he is at work on a book about the life of Anthony Mirenna, AKA “Tony Moran,” who was the overlord of organized crime in Reading in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Mr. Del Collo and his wife, Rebecca M. Gordon, reside in Hampden Heights in the City of Reading with their feline children.