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Thursday, May 06, 2010
Courts - "Kentucky courts slashing 113 jobs"
Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader reported in a lengthy April 29, 2010 story:
FRANKFORT — Kentucky courts will axe 113 positions over the coming months to help make up an expected $6.8 million shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1.The job reduction is the largest layoff in the court’s history and follows a smaller round of cutbacks last year. More belt tightening is likely again next year, when a $10.6 million shortfall is expected. * * *
The cost-cutting measures include:
■ Cutting at least 18 staff positions from the state’s family court programs;
■ Abolishing drug courts set aside for families and juveniles;
■ Axing 21 trial commissioners;
■ Cutting overtime for all deputy clerks;
■ And cutting all payments to attend conferences for the next two years.Only five of the 113 positions being cut across the state are now vacant, said Administrative Office of the Courts Director Laurie Dudgeon. Some of the affected people will be offered other vacant positions if they are tenured employees — or employees that can not be terminated at will, she said. * * *
Court officials had warned legislators as early as last summer that layoffs in the judicial branch were inevitable without additional money. But lawmakers — who have yet to pass an executive branch budget — opted to cut the court system by about 2 percent from the previous year. It’s overall budget for fiscal year 2011 was $290 million, far less than the $315 million the courts had requested.
The shortfall for the two pools of money that the judicial branch uses for its operations is more than $33 million for the upcoming fiscal year. However, the courts were able to use $26 million in one-time money to erase much of that shortfall.
So far, the judicial branch is the only branch of Kentucky government that has been forced to use layoffs to balance its budget.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 6, 2010 09:03 AM
Posted to Courts in general