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Court offices move budget lines to buy new recording equipment; problem‑solving court shifts grant funds to cover drug testing
Summary
Circuit court officials received council approval to transfer grant and internal funds to cover court recording‑system replacement and to shift $16,372 within a Department of Correction grant from a vacant case‑manager position to drug testing supplies for the problem‑solving court.
Circuit‑court staff told the council that an aging hearing‑room recording system failed in one courtroom and parts were no longer manufactured. To avoid a new‑money request, the courts identified four existing accounts with unused balances and asked the council to reappropriate those balances into two accounts to buy an upgraded recording system vetted by IT.
Separately, Judge Angela Sims requested a transfer within the problem‑solving court’s DOC grant: $16,372 from a vacant case‑manager position (series 100) to the program’s drug‑testing line (series 300). Court staff said that, because the position is likely to remain vacant under the hiring freeze, the transfer would pay drug‑testing costs through the end of the year without using general‑fund dollars.
Why it matters: The recording system is required by law to ensure hearings are recorded. The DOC grant transfer reduces the need to supplement drug testing with general‑fund dollars.
Actions and outcomes - Circuit court transfers: Council approved reassigning balances from four existing court accounts into recording‑system lines already in the budget; staff said the plan avoids a separate new‑money appropriation. Motion carried by voice vote. - Problem‑solving court transfer: Council approved the $16,372 reallocation from the vacant case‑manager line to drug testing; Judge Angela Sims said the DOC had already approved the change.
Ending: Court administrators and IT will proceed with procurement for the recording system; the problem‑solving court will use the transferred grant funds to cover drug testing through the remainder of the fiscal year.
