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Due to budget cutbacks, the 11th Judicial District will have to institute measures to save money.
One of those measures includes closing all court services for each of the next four Fridays.
Clint Hurt, 11th Judicial District administrator said that the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, doesn’t paint a better picture.
“The next fiscal year is not looking to be a lot better,” Hurt said.
The Kansas Supreme Court has already instituted a hiring freeze, which began in December 2008, eliminated temporary employee positions and instituted an emergency surcharge on filings.
But, Hurt said, the closures are necessary to keep expenses down.
“We’re operating on a short staff and have been since 2009,” Hurt said. “We are moving offices around to help off-set all of that.”
Under Kansas Supreme Court-issued Administrative Order No. 241, court closures and involuntary unpaid leave of personnel, or furloughs, will begin this week, on Friday.
So, statewide, all Kansas Judicial Branch Courts will be closed on April 9,16 23 and May 7. In addition, the 11th District Court Clerk of Court offices in Cherokee, Crawford and Labette counties will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. to noon the following Monday to provide staff the ability to process paperwork.
As for judges, Hurt said that they are working Fridays on an emergency basis only. He said that if the budget issues continue, docket back-up is a real possibility.
“If we have continued closures, you will see a back-up,” Hurt said. “You can see dockets backing up if this keeps up.”
The Kansas Legislature, which sets the budget for the Kansas Supreme Court, is out of session until April 28 when it will come back and start debate on the FY 2011 budget.
“The Legislature has simply not provided the Judicial Branch with the funds necessary to perform services,” Hurt said. “They came up with some, but it is not enough, but we were looking at 30 days without that provision.”
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
Due to budget cutbacks, the 11th Judicial District will have to institute measures to save money.
One of those measures includes closing all court services for each of the next four Fridays.
Clint Hurt, 11th Judicial District administrator said that the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, doesn’t paint a better picture.
“The next fiscal year is not looking to be a lot better,” Hurt said.
The Kansas Supreme Court has already instituted a hiring freeze, which began in December 2008, eliminated temporary employee positions and instituted an emergency surcharge on filings.
But, Hurt said, the closures are necessary to keep expenses down.
“We’re operating on a short staff and have been since 2009,” Hurt said. “We are moving offices around to help off-set all of that.”
Under Kansas Supreme Court-issued Administrative Order No. 241, court closures and involuntary unpaid leave of personnel, or furloughs, will begin this week, on Friday.
So, statewide, all Kansas Judicial Branch Courts will be closed on April 9,16 23 and May 7. In addition, the 11th District Court Clerk of Court offices in Cherokee, Crawford and Labette counties will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. to noon the following Monday to provide staff the ability to process paperwork.
As for judges, Hurt said that they are working Fridays on an emergency basis only. He said that if the budget issues continue, docket back-up is a real possibility.
“If we have continued closures, you will see a back-up,” Hurt said. “You can see dockets backing up if this keeps up.”
The Kansas Legislature, which sets the budget for the Kansas Supreme Court, is out of session until April 28 when it will come back and start debate on the FY 2011 budget.
“The Legislature has simply not provided the Judicial Branch with the funds necessary to perform services,” Hurt said. “They came up with some, but it is not enough, but we were looking at 30 days without that provision.”
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
