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Circuit court cites mandated transcript rate increase; county covers shortfall and flags ongoing budget pressure
Summary
A mandated increase in court transcript rates and higher ordering rates for appeals has pushed the circuit court over budget for FY25; the Board approved a reallocation of existing funding to cover the current shortfall and was warned of steady future increases.
Oakland County circuit court staff told the Public Health & Safety Committee that a statutory increase in the rates paid for court transcript production has created an unbudgeted cost pressure that will recur in coming years. The committee approved a reallocation of existing funding to cover the current shortfall.
Circuit court staff said the per-page and per-copy fees paid for transcripts roughly tripled under recent statutory changes (the presenter cited an increase from $1.75 to $3.75 per unit and from $0.30 to $0.90 for copies). The court reported it is over budget for this fiscal year and estimated that the line item would be about $45,000 over budget in the current year. Staff said transcript costs may double or triple in a full year after the change; the fee schedule also contains statutory steps that raise rates periodically.
The presenter also said the county is ordering more transcripts for appeals because appellate practice and requests have increased; one cited factor was direction from appellate counsel that the county order district-court transcripts in a higher share of cases, increasing volume by roughly 25 percent on top of the higher per-transcript cost.
To address the immediate budget shortfall, staff worked with fiscal to identify favorable balances in other lines (expert witness line item was cited) and recommended a local reallocation. The committee approved the request. Commissioner discussion ranged from exploring technology solutions — including automated transcription and using electronic, searchable records — to noting state-level constraints (e.g., ability to accept video into e-filing systems would require state-level changes). Staff said technology could help reduce internal transcript requests but cannot remove statutorily required transcripts for appeals.
Commission Chair Woodward asked whether the change constitutes an unfunded mandate; court staff said it appears to be an unfunded mandate and suggested county associations may pursue advocacy. The committee recorded an approving vote on the reallocation and asked that the issue remain on the Board’s radar for future budget planning.
