DeKalb County's court system faces the equivalent of a monthlong shutdown if the county moves forward with $33.6 million in proposed budget cuts, court officials say.
The County Commission is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a $530 million budget for 2011 that includes no property tax increase and instead relies on cuts to offset reduced revenue.
County officials say it’s too early to determine the true impact on county services, but the cuts would translate to about 800 job losses.
On Friday – a day after the proposal was tentatively adopted – the CEO’s office instructed department heads to submit a letter detailing the impact of the cuts, including possible layoffs, facility closures and reduced operating hours.
District Attorney Robert James told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the cuts to prosecutors, the judges and court clerks would effect constitutionally-mandated services.
“This isn’t just getting rid of some staff and closing for a few days. This equals shutting down the whole courthouse for a month,” James said Friday.
The Commission’s proposal includes an 8.9 percent decrease to all departments, except police, fire and the sheriff. Their cuts are 4.46 percent each.
The courts’ budgets are more than 90 percent personnel, meaning layoffs and an even bigger case backlog, Chief State Court Judge Wayne M. Purdom said.
“It’s just too serious for the level of crime, number of domestic disputes we have and the number of business disputes that need resolution by the courts for us to handle the drastic cuts that are being approved by the board in this new budget,” Chief Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott said.
On Thursday night, the judges, district attorney, chief marshal and court clerks took an informal vote and agreed to hold off on making any cuts until June, when the commission is scheduled to reassess the budget. Every year in June, the county assesses the tax digest and sales tax revenue to determine if more cuts are needed or more spending can be approved.
“We will continue to work with the commission. We trust them,” James said. “We were in a similar situation last year and come midyear, we got more money. When they tell me they won’t let justice fail, all I can do is take them at their word.”
But officials with CEO Burrell Ellis’ office say the cuts will be real.
“Departments should not assume that appropriation levels will be adjusted in the future,” Chief Operating Officer Richard Stogner wrote to staff Friday. “Given the current economic conditions, that would be an unrealistic assumption unless the Board of Commissioners reconsiders a millage rate adjustment at midyear.”
The CEO had proposed raising property taxes by 2.32 mills, but commissioners rejected the increase and criticized the CEO’s spending plan.
The judges, district attorney and other employees are waiting on the two government branches to reach a resolution.
“We just think those two entities are trying to work out their differences and we are caught in the middle,” Scott said. “We’re not a manufacturing facility. If changes aren’t made then I think you could anticipate for us in order to come into budget guidelines, cut some more positions. But we’re cutting not just flesh; we’re cutting to the bone.”
Last year, the judges threatened a court order to force commissioners to fully fund their budgets for constitutional-mandated services, but decided against it after they received more money.
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