Clerks of courts face financial challenges

Leader says plummeting fines and fees have led to $1 million shortfall

Central Florida clerks of courts say their offices’ revenues have taken a nosedive during the coronavirus pandemic, which has exacerbated flaws in the state’s funding system amid plummeting fines and fees they rely on to operate.

Seminole County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller Grant Maloy, who projects his office of almost 200 employees will be about $1 million short this fiscal year, said he asked Gov. Ron DeSantis for help in a June 30 letter but has not received a response. To avoid layoffs, Maloy has reduced 14 positions at his office through attrition.

“You can’t run an office on fines and fees when there are no fines and fees,” he said. “… If something doesn’t happen, we’re not going to have any money.”

A spokesman for DeSantis said the governor is “very much aware of the financial issues that both public sector and private sector entities are currently facing during this challenging time.”

“We will continue to work with government entities and the Florida Legislature to examine these issues and determine what options are available for relief while balancing the financial position of the state,” spokesman Cody McCloud said.

Orange County Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell, who got $1.5 million last week from the county to stave off furloughs for 410 employees and office closures until the end of September, said she was relieved to avoid a crisis but called the statewide funding model “broken” and called on Florida lawmakers to fix it.

“We desperately have to come up with a solution this next [legislative] session,” she said. “Our funding should not be tied to unforeseen circumstances. … We need to have adequate resources to be the gateway to the justice system.”

Moore Russell did not say whether she would have to lay off employees in the future but added that she is freezing some spending.

She also said she is planning to send a letter to DeSantis asking for emergency help for clerks, especially with evictions and other court activity picking up.

The Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers association said 67 offices statewide perform nearly 1,000 duties, including attending court hearings and trials; processing criminal and civil cases; collecting court fines and fees; auditing guardianship reports and child support payments; helping victims file for protective injunctions; issuing marriage licenses; processing passports and conducting internal county audits.

Clerks are funded by the fines, fees and court costs they collect each month and aren’t allowed to have reserve funds, said Jason Harrell, director of legislative and public affairs for FCCC. Clerks who collect more than their monthly budget, like Orange and Seminole counties, send the extra revenue to a trust fund that disperses it to smaller, fiscally constrained counties.

When fear over COVID-19 shut the state down in March, clerks immediately saw their revenues plunge, Harrell said.

“Less people were able to pay because of financial hardship, so we immediately started to experience deficit conditions for clerks,” he said. “… We are working closely with the governor’s office to see if there’s any emergency funding solution they can provide to us. Those conversations are ongoing.”

The biggest drop came in May, when clerks statewide collected $21.6 million — a 44% slump from May 2019, when clerks collected $38.7 million, according to data from the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation, which approves budgets for all 67 clerks.

Fewer cars on the road during the pandemic meant fewer traffic tickets written by law enforcement, which is a big component of clerks’ annual revenues, said Jason Welty, budget and communications director for CCOC.

The CCOC’s executive council voted in June to reduce clerks’ statewide courtrelated budgets by $59 million.

As of July, clerks were expected to close 17% of their offices temporarily, with 57% of full-time staff taking a pay cut through furloughs, Welty said. The majority of temporary staff (74%) would be laid off.

Clerks in Sarasota and Manatee counties were forced to lay off 78 employees in early August, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. In July, Polk Clerk of Court and Comptroller Stacy Butterfield announced she was cutting 20 courthouse jobs and furloughing 200 employees one day a week through September, The Ledger reported.

Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Gary Cooney said his office has saved money by not filling vacancies, but that’s left his staff short 20 people on courtside operations. When trial courts loosen their restrictions and resume proceedings, Cooney expects the office to feel the strain.

“We’re considered an essential service, but we’re not funded like we’re essential,” Cooney said. “We’re funded like an afterthought.”

Moore Russell agreed.

“It’s imperative that the Legislature address this,” she said. “The court system is the third branch of our government and it’s important that our legislators work with clerks to come up with a solution so we have a sustainable funding model.”

Maloy said he’s shifted employees from court-side operations to the county-side so they can stay busy while courthouse proceedings are limited to only essential hearings.

“At some point, this is going to end, and you’ve got to have people who know what they’re doing when the courts go full steam again,” he said. “… There might be a point where we can’t provide court clerks in courtroom if we keep letting people go and not rehire.”

Maloy said the office has done voluntary furloughs one day a week, including himself.

“We’re going to do everything we can to provide topnotch service no matter what,” he said.