Judiciary asks lawmakers to approve FY25 budget adjustments for courthouse accessibility, security and IT shortfalls

The state judiciary asked lawmakers during a legislative committee meeting to approve a set of budget adjustments for fiscal 2025 that would shift existing appropriations and add funding to cover courthouse security, a sheriff deputies cost-of-living adjustment and a growing information-technology shortfall.

The requests include using $50,000 from a design appropriation for the Essex courthouse connector to install an Americans with Disabilities Act–accessible bathroom in an adjacent meeting house so it can house juror draws; shifting $800,000 from an HVAC appropriation toward security and network rewiring in county courthouses; funding about $388,000 to cover a 3.7% cost-of-living increase negotiated for contracted sheriff deputies; and additional, unspecified general-fund support to cover the shortfall in the Court Technology Fund that pays for ongoing software licenses, cybersecurity and network maintenance.

Greg Mosley, chief of finance and administration for the judiciary, told the committee the Essex connector allocation of $300,000 was originally for planning and design and that the $50,000 shift would let the judiciary “put in a bathroom in this meeting house” so jurors could assemble much closer to the courthouse. Mosley said the county owns both buildings and characterized the transfer request as “essentially a 0 sum request,” meaning the money would stay within courthouse-related capital projects but be used for construction rather than planning.

Mosley said the HVAC program received a $5.7 million appropriation during COVID to…