Proposed Budget Cuts for Clerk of Court

I recently received a notice from Ken Burke, the Clerk of Court for Pinellas County, advising of a bill pending in the Florida Legislature to dramatically cut funding to the Clerks' offices. Though I do not remember the precise amount of the budget cut Mr. Burke did advise that last year due to budget cuts the Clerk's office laid off approximately 28 people and if this bill passes the cuts this year will have to be twice as much. I recognize the financial constraints we are all under these days including our government. Cuts seem to be the foregone conclusion. Though it is clearly sad for the employees who may get a pink slip the public using the civil court system will also suffer a great deal with delays and inefficiencies due to the lay offs. If there is less money the Clerk will have to re-prioritize where employees work. There are mandates that ensure the criminal court system will be funded first. Therefore the primary place the pain of the budget cuts will be felt is on the civil side. It will likely mean significant delays in information processing.