News Release
June 25, 2009
Contact: Rebecca
Colton, Counsel to the Chief Justice, (515)281-8205
Budget Ax
Continues to Hit Iowa Courts
Des
Moines, June 25, 2009—Today,
the Iowa Supreme Court announced another round of cost cutting for the state's
court system—the second round of cuts since January. This latest round of
cuts is necessary to balance the Judicial Branch budget for Fiscal Year 2010,
which begins July 1.
"We
must operate within the limits of our appropriation from the legislature," said
Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, Iowa Supreme Court. "As stewards of public
funds, the Supreme Court is resolved to do everything in its power to reduce
our operating expenses. However, as the leaders of Iowa's justice system
we are deeply concerned about the impact continuing cuts will have on our
ability to deliver quality court services to the public. Because of the
effects of the nation's economic downturn, people need court services now more
than ever."
For
Fiscal Year 2010, the Supreme Court reduced Judicial Branch operating expenses
by $5.4 million. The court cut approximately $635,000 in non-personnel
expenses. The bulk of the cuts, nearly $4.8 million, come in the form of a
statewide workforce reduction. Unlike the round of cuts earlier
this year, the latest cuts do not include unpaid leave, judicial travel
restrictions and court closures.
"The
cuts imposed earlier this year such as court closures and travel restrictions
were stop-gap measures required to cope with a severe, mid-year deappropriation. We
need not resort to these measures now because we've had more time to plan and
we have a full year during which to absorb the impact of the cuts," said Chief
Justice Ternus. "The supreme court is determined to keep the court
system open to the public without interruption. Nevertheless, the cuts we
implement today will impair our service to the public. With fewer
judges and court staff to address the workload, delays will continue to grow
and quality may suffer."
The
Judicial Branch will reduce its workforce primarily through the use of
vacancies. All told, the Judicial Branch will eliminate or hold open
nearly 50 vacant court staff positions that come from all levels of the court
system. For the first time in years, the Judicial Branch will hold open
judicial vacancies as a way to reduce expenses. The Supreme Court will
make exceptions for judicial positions assigned to juvenile court and judicial
positions for which a judicial district can show a compelling need to fill.
In addition, the Judicial Branch will lay off about 15 members of its
staff, including 13 court reporters.
"To
cope with severe shortfalls in the early part of this decade, we cut deeply
into the ranks of most of our staff, but we did not cut court reporter
jobs. This year, we will reduce our court reporter workforce by 10% and
begin pooling court reporters," said State Court Administrator David
Boyd. "This will be a big change for our judges. Even so I am
confident that we can effectively cover all of the trial courts' reporting
needs by pooling court reporters. Pooling is much more cost effective than
our traditional practice of assigning one court reporter to one judge. It
will reduce court reporter down time and save taxpayers nearly $1.5
million."
"Reducing
our workforce is a tough decision. But there are no good or easy choices
for reducing our operating budget," said Chief Justice Ternus. "Every
choice has drawbacks that affect our service to the public so the court took
great care to approve measures that will preserve the fundamental functions of
the judicial branch through the tough economic times ahead."
# # #
2009
Iowa
Supreme Court
1111
East Court Avenue
Des
Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952
