Circuit clerks told layoff over for year.

The financial picture of Alabama's court system "ain't pretty," Randy Helms, administrative director of the Administrative Office of Courts, said in Huntsville Wednesday.

But he told the Alabama Circuit Clerks Association meeting at the Hilton Huntsville that no more layoffs of employees are expected this fiscal year.

The courts will raise $25 million and regain their 2002-2003 operating level if three bills to increase court fees and collect outstanding fines are approved by the Legislature when it meets in February, Helms said.

"A priority is to fill job vacancies and to get back to pre-layoff levels," he said.

Helms spoke to about 50 circuit clerks during a luncheon as the association's three-day midwinter conference began. The Administrative Office of Courts is located in Montgomery and oversees the state's court system.

Budget cuts shaved 18 percent off general fund allocations to most state agencies, Helms said. But cuts to agencies regarded as crucial to public safety received 10 percent cuts. Those agencies included the courts, Pardons and Paroles, Corrections and Public Safety.

The courts lost $13 million and laid off 392 employees statewide from clerk's offices and judicial staffs. Court staffing was already under strength by 168 employees because of a hiring freeze that did not allow replacement of those who retired or quit.

Even Helms' agency lost 14 people in the layoff and is down to about 40 workers now, he said.

For Jeff Wood, circuit clerk of Coosa County, it meant losing two of his four employees. The caseloads are not getting any smaller, and the remaining clerks have to maintain the former pace to keep the courts going, he said.

In some counties, local measures are generating money from a hodgepodge of sources to temporarily save jobs, Helms said.

Corinne Hurst, Lee County circuit clerk, said she had to lay off four of her 16 employees. She laid off two and then dipped into the county's restitution recovery fund to keep two workers on the payroll temporarily. Their jobs are not safe, she said.

The restitution money is collected from defendants whom judges order to reimburse victims of theft and other crimes. The circuit clerk's office keeps a share of the money.

"When that money runs out, it's gone," Hurst said.

To save the jobs of court employees in Madison County, the County Commission is backing a legislative bill that calls for an increase of up to 49 percent on filing fees for lawsuits, criminal cases, and domestic relations cases. If approved, the increases will raise $1 million a year to keep staffing at a level it was before the state cuts.

The commission also lent the court money for salaries for some court employees until the Legislature acts on the measure.

The state court system needs to raise $15 million to get back to the funding and staffing levels of fiscal 2003, which ended Sept. 30, Helms said. The courts also need $10 million to pay for health insurance, retirement, and a 27th pay period for employees this year. Court employees usually have 26 pay periods in a year, but every 11th year there is an extra pay period, Helms said.

The Legislature approved a $10 million allocation to the court system for those purposes if the money becomes available, but the courts have not received it yet, he said.

To raise the money, the Administrative Office of Courts has proposed a package of three bills that would allow:

The increases would also bring Alabama in line with fees charged in other states, Helms said.

"In some counties, it costs more to pay a traffic ticket than to file a lawsuit," he said. "Our situation is critical. It's going to take lobbying your local legislators."

Jane Smith, Madison County circuit clerk, said she is not certain how the proposed bills would affect the bill that officials here have proposed.

In Limestone County, the layoff reduced the court's staff from 11 to eight, said Circuit Clerk Charles Page. Continuing to reduce the work force means the work will not get done and the courts will stop operating efficiently, he said.

"Everybody here agrees with the new director of the courts about the situation," he said. "It appears the mood is upbeat with hope that the Legislature will come into the situation with some type of answer."