Clerks throughout the state are now experiencing the unthinkable; not enough staff to send to courtrooms, complete appellate records in a timely manner, issue titles after foreclosure sales or answer the hundreds of thousands of telephone calls that are received by Clerks statewide. 

In order to absorb almost $90 million in legislative budget cuts and balance their budgets, Florida’s 67 Clerks of Court have reduced their staffs by more than 1,300 people, closed branch offices in 31 counties and reduced services.  As a consequence, basic functions, such as maintaining court records, staffing hearings and assisting the public with court filings, are being impacted, prompting the president of the Florida Association of Court Clerks, Duval County Clerk Jim Fuller, to ask Chief Justice Peggy Quince for help in setting priorities.

“I respectfully request that as the head of the Judicial Branch of Florida government, you prioritize the work that is most important to the Court so that Clerks can begin making appropriate decisions when mandates cannot be met with the current financial resources,” Fuller wrote in a letter dated August 17, 2009. 

In the face of falling fine and fee collections, fueled by the decline in mortgage foreclosures and other economic factors, Clerks must still find a way to balance their budgets. Additionally, new budget caps imposed by the Legislature transferred $45 million in filing fee revenue from the Clerks to the Courts.  Altogether, the Clerks are facing nearly $100 million in cutbacks.
 
Clerks are taking steps to minimize impacts on the public by cross-training staff; implementing “e-filing” to allow lawsuits, pleadings and motions to be filed online; and urging members of the public to conduct as much of their court-related business as possible online.
Among the measures taken by Clerks to balance their budgets are:

• STAFF REDUCTIONS – A nearly 20 percent reduction in workforce, including the termination of 1,300 of 9,500 employees.  
• LAYOFFS – Employees have been laid off in 52 counties, representing 78 percent of the Clerks’ offices statewide.
• HIRING FREEZES – All 67 counties and 100 percent of Clerks’ offices have implemented a hiring freeze for all positions.
• SALARY FREEZES – To date, 62 counties, representing 93 percent of offices and employees have frozen salaries, and the five remaining small counties may implement a salary freeze before year’s end.
• PAY CUTS – Pay cuts have been implemented in 19 counties, affecting 28 percent of Clerks’ offices.
• FURLOUGHS – A total of 3,476 employees, or 36 percent of the total workforce, have been furloughed in 26 counties.
• OFFICE CLOSURES – Clerks’ branch offices have been closed in 31 counties, resulting in a 46 percent reduction in services.