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COUNCIL BLUFFS — Divorce cases could drag on, small claims could stagnate and foreclosures could fall behind schedule because of budget cuts in the Iowa court system.
Last week, county clerks of court across Iowa had their first full week of reduced public hours, closing two hours early two days a week.
The budget cuts have affected all aspects of the judicial system and, in at least a couple of rural counties, led to a drastic reduction in the number of hours court offices are open to the public.
Fewer hours and fewer staffers are likely to slow the judicial process for attorneys, judges and everyone who is party to a criminal or civil case.
The cuts came after Gov. Chet Culver ordered a 10 percent reduction in the state budget. As a separate branch of government, the court system wasn’t obligated to make cuts. But at the urging of legislative leaders, the courts agreed to reduce their budgets by 7.1 percent.
The reduced hours saw court clerk offices close last week at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, as they will for the rest of the fiscal year. The early closing gives clerks a chance for uninterrupted time to catch up on paperwork.
But after the $11.4 million in judicial cuts, every court clerk’s office lost at least one employee. And all court employees must take 10 days of unpaid leave before June 1.
“We’ve lost two people, one full time and one part time,” said Jenell Anderson, Page County clerk of court.
When she started at the office in Clarinda in 1998, there were six employees. Now it’s down to three.
“The workload, the paperwork, is heavy for the three of us. It’s just continual. You can’t let up,” Anderson said.
The Page County office, like most others across the state, is facing the possibility of longer turnaround times on court documents.
Anderson averages a three-day turnaround on court filings. Now it could take more than a week. Civil cases will be the first to be pushed back.
Emergency matters, such as removing a child from a home or issuing a protection order, will be handled first.
After that, criminal cases, child custody, civil commitment and domestic abuse cases will take priority. Divorces, fore- closures, small claims and probate are among the types of cases that will be pushed to the back of the line.
The priority of cases was ordered by Chief Justice Marsha Ternus of the Iowa Supreme Court. But court cases keep piling up and clerks are stressed.
“We’re feeling it. It’s hurting,” said Ruth Godfrey, Pottawattamie County clerk of court.
Reduced staff and furlough days make it difficult to meet deadlines, she said.
“One extra day off and we really pay for it when we come back to work. … Crime doesn’t stop for budget cuts.”
In two counties, court clerk offices have cut their weekly hours by 50 percent.
In Ringgold County, the court clerk has gone from 40 hours a week to 18 hours. In Taylor County, the drop was from 40 hours to 20.
Each county has just one employee in the court clerk’s office, so office hours are more important than ever. A couple of weeks ago, the Taylor County court clerk was ill, rendering the office mostly useless for the hours it was open.
Clint Spurrier serves as county attorney of both Ringgold and Taylor Counties. Spurrier said the cut in hours can put both counties in danger of missing deadlines in criminal cases.
Clerks can’t process documents as quickly and, for Spurrier, the reduced access means it’s more difficult to get information to charge someone with a crime.
That’s especially a problem in rural counties, where most county attorneys see a judge only once every two weeks.
Spurrier’s biggest concern is the backlog of paperwork. “Cases that may have taken us three months to resolve, they may be taking us six months,” he said.
The Legislature could vote to reinstate some funding to the judicial branch, but that seems unlikely. Iowa is facing a revenue shortfall that could be as little as $400 million or as much as $900 million, depending on who is making the projection.
Regardless, money will be tight.
“We all have to give and take in order to make it work,” said Mills County Attorney Marci McClellan. “We just have to buckle down.”
Contact the writer:
444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com
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