As the Chief Justice John Minton of the Kentuck Supreme Court opens up his requests for more money for our Courts in the State of the Judiciary address, we see a post in the newspapers the same day in which the AOC fumbles the clerk's exam by putting answers into the book requiring a do-over. Not a good day; nor a good justification on why the AOC deserves more money.
The requested increase? Appx. 20% each year for the next two years. And, at a time of lower revenue, higher unemployment, and . . . . [you fill in the blanks].
In total, the judicial branch is seeking to increase its $316.3 million budget for fiscal year 2012 by $62.2 million in fiscal 2013 and $66.9 million in fiscal 2014.
First the State of the Judicary Story:
Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton calls for tech upgrades, personnel funding
FRANKFORT, KY. — Kentucky Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. outlined a robust budget request in a speech to lawmakers Friday, calling for more personnel, urgent technology upgrades and two new courthouses — all to prevent future operational troubles in the court system.
His annual State of the Judiciary address is the first major preview of what the judicial branch will request as part of the budget for the next biennium, which will be written by the 2012 legislative session.
It comes at a time when the state’s overall budget outlook remains volatile — with the state revenue report for November showing a decline from the previous year.
“My responsibilities extend beyond balancing today’s budget,” Minton told the legislature’s interim joint Judiciary Committee. “I must also ensure that our court system is healthy enough to carry out its constitutional duties tomorrow. We cannot let neglect impede the operation of our courts.”
In total, the judicial branch is seeking to increase its $316.3 million budget for fiscal year 2012 by $62.2 million in fiscal 2013 and $66.9 million in fiscal 2014.
Included in the request is $11.9 million to raise the salary schedule for entry-level employee positions, $2.1 million for 25 new pretrial officers and $1.9 million for three new family court personnel.
Minton said the salary changes would pay judicial employees on a scale that is competitive with other branches of state government, while more pretrial officers are needed to manage the higher workload under reforms passed this year that have eased corrections costs but have increased the pretrial release rate.
Click on linked heading above for the rest of the post.
Second, the AOC's foul-up on the clerk's exam story:
State foulup forces circuit clerk candidates to retake test
Running for circuit court clerk in Kentucky just got a little more complicated — thanks to errors by the state court system.
Prospective clerk candidates in next year’s election are required take a test to certify that they are qualified to serve, and more than 200 did so last Saturday.
Now, however, they’ll have to retake a portion of it — a week before Christmas — because of the court system’s foulup.
One of the problems: some of the test booklets contained answers to questions.
In addition to inconveniencing the candidates, the matter will cost the state thousands of dollars.
Those who took took the test Saturday at the Embassy Suites hotel in Lexington were informed by email on Dec. 7 by the state Administrative Office of the Courts that the general knowlege portion of the test would have to be given again because of irregularities in the way it was administered.
“At least five examinees raised their hands during the ... exam and informed proctors that their test booklets contained answers from previous use. We immediately replaced those booklets with new ones, but there is still a risk that other exam booklets contained answers,” according to the email, sent by Marc Theriault, the agency’s general counsel.
Additionally, Laurie Dudgeon, the AOC’s director, said some who took the test were given answer sheets that contained spaces for only 100 answers — when there were 160 questions on the multiple-choice test.
“For me, it’s just the exasperation of waiting another two weeks to find out,” said Steve Greenwell, who took the test and is planning to run for circuit court clerk in Oldham County.
Greenwell said he can rearrange his schedule easily enough to retake the test.
“But I can imagine some places in the state and some locations that they’ve got, it might be difficult (for some people),” he said.
In all, 213 people took the first test, Dudgeon said.
Test-takers must get an overall score of 70 before their names can be placed on the ballot in any of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
Click on linked heading above for the rest of the post.
Third, links to AOC with CJ Minton's remarks:
Chief Justice of Kentucky John D. Minton Jr. presented the annual State of the Judiciary address before the General Assembly’s Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary on Dec. 9 at the Capitol in Frankfort. He discussed the Judicial Branch’s recent accomplishments and challenges and provided an overview of the branch’s FY 2012-2014 budget request in his remarks (78KB-PDF) to the committee. He also talked about early outcomes of House Bill 463 (68KB-PDF).
Fourth, anothe story in the same Courier Journal edition. Lower revenue!
Kentucky's November tax receipts fell
Tax receipts to Kentucky’s General Fund fell by 2.8 percent in November, compared to November 2010.
It was the second month in a row, and third of the last four, in which revenues have declined.
However, the three weak months have been more than offset by two strong ones, and through the first five months this fiscal year revenues have grown at 2.1 percent.
In her monthly state revenue report, Budget Director Mary Lassiter said Friday that despite November’s dip revenues for the year remain on course to produce about $138 million in revenue beyond what is budgeted for spending this fiscal year.
Attaining that surplus is important because the Beshear administration recently announced it plans to use $75.5 million of it to help close a hole in the current budget.
Click on linked heading above for the rest of the post.
